Posted on 08/29/2006 5:55:39 AM PDT by Hydroshock
The growing myth that corn is a cure-all for our energy woes is leading us toward a potentially dangerous global fight for food. While crop-based ethanol -the latest craze in alternative energy - promises a guilt-free way to keep our gas tanks full, the reality is that overuse of our agricultural resources could have consequences even more drastic than, say, being deprived of our SUVs. It could leave much of the world hungry.
We are facing an epic competition between the 800 million motorists who want to protect their mobility and the two billion poorest people in the world who simply want to survive. In effect, supermarkets and service stations are now competing for the same resources.
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More about bio-fuels Why Wal-Mart wants to sell ethanol
E85 is available at only a tiny fraction of gas stations. But the giant retailer is poised to change that. (more) Manure mountains to fuel ethanol plant One company's drive to locate domestic sources of energy is taking a turn into the barnyard. (more) Soybeans that give you gas Argentina is a prime market for making and selling renewable biodiesel fuel thanks to cheap land and labor, as well as bumper crops of soybeans. (more)
This year cars, not people, will claim most of the increase in world grain consumption. The problem is simple: It takes a whole lot of agricultural produce to create a modest amount of automotive fuel.
The grain required to fill a 25-gallon SUV gas tank with ethanol, for instance, could feed one person for a year. If today's entire U.S. grain harvest were converted into fuel for cars, it would still satisfy less than one-sixth of U.S. demand.
(Excerpt) Read more at money.cnn.com ...
...and, of course, who eats #2 yellow dent field corn?
....Corn is just a stepping stone.
And that's a fact. Some people are very positive about the future of ethanol plants...the ingenuity will be astonishing.
Ok,$1.50 gas. You are right about the the tree huggers here.
If you search a little bit, I don't believe you will find this to be true.
I saw the Rigzone post earlier, listing Encana, Suncor, Husky, Shell, Petrocan and Imperial all up to their ears in syncrude. If five of the six do 500,000 bbls/day and Shell does 500,000 to maybe 750,000, it'd be a nice plus.
Read it again. There are not quantities of this size at all of the those producers.
Where, give or take, do you live?
Frankly the naysayers are going to have to suck it up and get used to it because the plants are under construction all across the nation.
Ethanol is going to rate right up there with CNG, battery powered cars, hybrids, and every other mileage miracle like gas line magnets, intake turbo vanes, catalytic screens under carburetors, fuel tank pills, acetone, moth balls, octane boosters and water injection. Sheese, can't remember them all.
Let the free market decide. If ethanol is the answer, then get rid of all subsidies and tarriffs on imported ethanol and see if anyone is willing to produce it. If it were a net producer then we might get some takers.
Some people are building plants literally in their own backyards.
The Rigzone article didn't give quantities. Suncor is doing over 200,000 now and wants to double production. Looks as if a 500,000/bbl day mine might be what the others are targeting. $100 billion investment is no small sum.
The Oglala aquafer in CO/NE/KS, etc. is the primary source of water for the crops in those areas. It's dropping because of use, and it will not be replenished. Experts in the area (I know one well) are very concerned with our abuse of this resource and the use of fertilizers and other chemicals that cause downstream pollution.
At some point, the amounts of these items will become a real issue, not a scare tactic. Are we there yet?
Secondly, when the government has to subsidize something like it does ethanol production, I know something is wrong. Take the funding away, see if it can fly on its own.
You are essentially correct in that ethanol does not produce the same thermal output per liquid unit as petroleum distilates when burned in an internal combustion engine. Which is how we ended up with gasoline as the choice for motor fuel. The increased NOx emissions from ethanol are also a problem that will need to be addressed.
I can't say that it's a bad idea or not without seeing where time and the resulting innovation can make ethanol a viable motor fuel.
Any suggestions for alternatives for oil ?
Husband THAT too,of course! While we are "Husbanding"ALL our natural resources foreign oil producers squeeze our economic balls in a vice ever the tighter while you and your Looney tree huggers wait for your Star Trek miracle energy solution!
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