Is Ethanol a Good Idea?

[eastern2western]

machine that turns woodwaste into cousin of natural gas? it is call anaerobic fermentation, mr expert, and any bucket can do it with a cap. you do not need a special machine.

[mohamedtheprophet1]

I work in the food industry and nothing, and I mean nothing has caused the rise in food prices like the corn ethanol mandates. You can take away the subsidies, the tax schemes and everything else but because of the federal mandates it would continue. What people need to do is go to congress.org put in your zip code and write your state and federal representatives and tell them in no uncertain terms to end the RFS (renewable fuel standards) and all ethanol/biodiesel mandates!

[monsterrain1000]

Seems the only folks down on ethanol are those who have never produced it and have nothing to do with the industry. What other source is there for high protien DDGs for cattle?

[switchgrassfuel]

good video, but don't badmouth corn ethanol. we had to start some ware.

[SavageJim01]

Ethanol is a bad idea, massive ethanol use for fuel will only force South America to burn and destroy tropical jungles to grow corn, a crop that no where near sequesters the same amount of carbon that jungle forests do.

[jomen112]

It does not matter if the process creates "side effects". What matter is that one need to put in more energy in the process than one gets out from it when producing alcohol.

This is not a matter of opinions, but a matter of a physical fact.

Secondly, the consequences of turning agricultural areas into energy producing areas is that there will be a huge shortage on food.

You cant grow it both - energy and food at the same time. There is simply not enough space for that.

[switchgrassfuel]

@jomen112 Ethanol has a positive energy balance. I think it is oil company propaganda that says other wise. and you said they can't grow energy and food at the same time. that is BS they already are. look at the (feed first) videos on You Tube. if done right ethanol can make a huge difference. with the right crop we have enough land. (Thinking outside the Barrel) another source of info on You Tube. their are many more, but those 2 are the first ones that came to mind that address your issues.

[jomen112]

@switchgrassfuel

Reference please.

[switchgrassfuel]

@jomen112 you should be able to find the info by typing in the names. in the search box.

[jomen112]

@switchgrassfuel

Thanks for answering so soon, however personally I dont consider you tube a reliable source of information unless it is backed up with references to scientific findings and those are the findings I asked reference to.

If you lost the references I will respect that, but I would need some more than "search you tube" before taking such claims as you made serious. I know about claims saying there are "side products" but this has been hypothetical speculations only.

[switchgrassfuel]

@jomen112 sins i am such a big fan of ethanol i went up to the gas station to see what i can find. The Minnesota E85 Station & Vehicle Info for December of 2008 was the only reference to energy balance that they had. US department of Energy reports a 1.67 energy balance. as far as food VS fuel i don't have data on how much DDG is used on our local livestock. most of my stuff is what i find on line. i encourage other people to decide it's credibility. sorry that i couldn't be more helpful.

[iwantit162]

this guy is talking outta his arse it creates jobs its less expensive then petrol to the environment as more area gets used for plants it will absord the co2 gases better.the left over grains can then be pressed onsite and used as feed for cows and pigs,chickens ect onsite if animals are present.the government is just stressed because they cant fob it off with reasons to profit from fake wars and tax the hell outta it because its running low on ethanol reserves

[HeadTater]

I don't think is is against ethanol in general. What he is against it the use of corn to make sugar ethanol. He is also against the preference ethanol has been getting from the government because it does not allow ethanol to advance on its own accord and it retards the growth of other alternatives. From what I gather, I think he is in favor of cellulose ethanol. We can use the refuse like stalks and husks to make ethanol while using the kernels for food.

[braneden]

If we wont stop POP growth it doesnt really matter and thisyou can power your cars with!!

[johnnyoregon]

Our food costs are going to skyrocket because of congress making us go to ethanol. Farmers will no longer grow hay or corn for forage crops or food consumption. They will grow it energy through subsidies by the US government. Goodbye big oil! Hello Big Chemical! Mansanto and Archer Daniels Midland are going to own you! Genetically modified crops are the way of the future.

[johnnyoregon]

Awesome. At least this guy admits that ethanol costs more than its worth right now. This why an ear of corn is $.69 when it use to be $.10 A year ago. Good job a making the poor pay more! Democrats hate the poor and working class in America and around the world.

[wzxd8rm]

"A dedicated(to his pocket),... free market capitalist, T. J. Rodgers takes a businessman's and engineer's view of global warming. How serious is it, and what should we make of the plans offered up by politicians(puppets and scape goats) such as Al Gore and Barack Obama to deal with it? If "cap and trade" or pollution taxes on CO2(CO2 is needed for growth of plants)

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Biodisel burns with soot, ethanol burns cleanly.

[Chrisnoscrub047]

Huh? Who's quote is that? Can you explain that a little more? *intersted*

[CognosSquare]

Very interesting. Somehow its visible in the way he talks that he is not biased.

My bet would not be on ethanol but if we could make biomaterial like stalks and such into fuel it has its niche inevitably as we have a lot of this anyway to waste.

[wzxd8rm]

USA media(full of faggots) keeps talking about saving the Amazon forest, NEVER about North American forest. Building homes from wood--what century it is??? And plastics are much superior to wood in all aspects, but have you seen homes from plastics??? And probably never will because oil will eventually be burnt out. In 1900 half of world oil production was coming from Baku, now there's almost nothing left.

[maurieer]

The only people making money on ethanol made from food stock in the US and Canada are

the insider-shareholders of the small public traded companies manufacturing it.

The companies themselves aren`t making a dime.

It`s all stock promotion then pump and dump the stock at great profits.

On top of that both govts, are subsidizing these companies as well as the farmers.

These cost are all passed down to the one`s who can least afford it, the middle and poor class.

[wzxd8rm]

It's Oil Mafia rhetorics about subsidizing, classes(sounds like Marxist propaganda), etc...

They are subotaging the development of renewable sources of energy.

Ethanol cost effective in Brazil without subsidizing, because they don't have oppresive oil corporations.

[Chrisnoscrub047]

-- I don't see the correlation?

[wzxd8rm]

Save the trees, crackers.

That you understand???