It takes more than a gallon of gasoline to produce a gallon of ethanol.
AP) Farmers, businesses and state officials are investing millions of dollars in ethanol and biofuel plants as renewable energy sources, but a new study says the alternative fuels burn more energy than they produce.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/07/19/tech/main709983.shtml
I hear that alot. Not buying it, though. Too simple.
Government subsidized (taxes), poorer gas mileage.
No upside. Just green hype.
>>>It takes more than a gallon of gasoline to produce a gallon of ethanol.
Wrong. Ethanol is not the only product produced in the process, thus assigning the total input costs to only 1 product is a lie.
You lose a little on every sale, but you make it up on volume.
Actually, I don't buy the argument. My guess is there were numerous obstacles to overcome when ethanol first hit the market. I think they are getting overcome one by one as you would expect with any commodity that has a demand.
I'm curious if the US or the world produces enough corn to satisfy all the demand. My guess is it doesn't. My guess is ethanol and E85 is but another component in the world wide fuel puzzle.
My problem is I think my state still provides a subsidy for the production of ethanol as well as legislating demand. I wonder how long such a thing is necessary. I'm not a scientist, chemist or energy expert. I just like reading little tidbits about E85 as they get published.