Interesting article on Ethanol
05-26-2009, 08:48 AM
#11
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Join Date: 04-07-2008
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 1,051
solman98 has a good point. I don't see any good science in the article at all. Lots of opinion, no real substance. Just another politically motivated bunch of hooey. The only point that I think is accurate is that Ethanol hasn't done squat to curb emissions. Even the EPA has admitted that.
I don't have any real leanings for or against Ethanol one way or the other. There are goods and bads. But there are few things I do know about.
1) Only when an engine is designed from the ground up can Ethanol ever have any real potential. Putting Ethanol in a gasoline engine is a little like putting gasoline in a Top Fuel dragster. It might work, but is it going to be efficient?
2) Producing Ethanol from corn is far from the best method. There are other, much better ways to produce it, but alas, the lobbiests aren't going to let it go in the right direction. BTW, one needs to do a lot of digging around and reading to get a real understanding of what's driving up corn and produce prices. An increase in the use of corn for Ethanol is partially to blame, yes. That's not the only factor though. Contrary to what some would have us believe, Ethanol is not produced from corn intended for human consumption. When prices of corn really shot up last year, Ethanol opponents tried to blame it on Ethanol production. It was interesting that no one considered that diesel was $5.00 a gal. and that both corn & Ethanol is shipped with trucks that use diesel.
3) While its true that Ethanol is very bad for engines that are not designed to handle E10, we've had to use it here for a good many years (15+). None of my car engines, or small engines have failed. Period. So unless someone produces hard numbers, I'm not buying into the "Ethanol destroys engines" propaganda. Is it good for an engine? Probably not. But neither do I believe it destroys engines.
4) There is no single solution to energy, particular when it comes to cars. The idea that Ethanol is the end all be all solution is ludicrous.
Unfortunately every single article I have read about Ethanol, pro or con, has been littered with bunk science and misleading statements.
I don't have any real leanings for or against Ethanol one way or the other. There are goods and bads. But there are few things I do know about.
1) Only when an engine is designed from the ground up can Ethanol ever have any real potential. Putting Ethanol in a gasoline engine is a little like putting gasoline in a Top Fuel dragster. It might work, but is it going to be efficient?
2) Producing Ethanol from corn is far from the best method. There are other, much better ways to produce it, but alas, the lobbiests aren't going to let it go in the right direction. BTW, one needs to do a lot of digging around and reading to get a real understanding of what's driving up corn and produce prices. An increase in the use of corn for Ethanol is partially to blame, yes. That's not the only factor though. Contrary to what some would have us believe, Ethanol is not produced from corn intended for human consumption. When prices of corn really shot up last year, Ethanol opponents tried to blame it on Ethanol production. It was interesting that no one considered that diesel was $5.00 a gal. and that both corn & Ethanol is shipped with trucks that use diesel.
3) While its true that Ethanol is very bad for engines that are not designed to handle E10, we've had to use it here for a good many years (15+). None of my car engines, or small engines have failed. Period. So unless someone produces hard numbers, I'm not buying into the "Ethanol destroys engines" propaganda. Is it good for an engine? Probably not. But neither do I believe it destroys engines.
4) There is no single solution to energy, particular when it comes to cars. The idea that Ethanol is the end all be all solution is ludicrous.
Unfortunately every single article I have read about Ethanol, pro or con, has been littered with bunk science and misleading statements.
Last edited by Doc brown; 05-26-2009 at 11:00 AM.
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