$2 or higher gas - Can ethanol make a comeback? Message Board

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Non-Tech : $2 or higher gas - Can ethanol make a comeback?

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Oct 31 9:30 AM EDT

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To: robert b furman who wrote (2333)	2/24/2007 11:21:23 AM
From: Think4Yourself	of 2801

You have a lot of good points but let's get to the bottom line. Ethanol costs at least 4 times as much to produce as gasoline, yields less energy, and is produced from FOOD. the creation of Ethanol from corn seed also requires approximately as much supplied energy (not including sunlight) to produce as it provides. Examples are the NG used to make the fertilizers used, and creation of the chemicals used in the pesticides, and the energy used in the processing. In essence you are paying 3-5 times the price of gasoline to create a roughly equivalent product out of other valuable energy sources, and consuming large quantities of food in the process. You are also raising the price of food for everyone, and not just corn based foods. Other crops will be passed up on planting in favor of the more profitable corn. A much more logical solution is to simply cut down on wasteful usage of gasoline. Forcing people to pay the exorbitant prices for E85 is one way to accomplish this. Don't get me wrong. We will need to solve energy problems at some point. Corn based ethanol isn't the answer short term or long. It will create FAR more problems than it will solve, and Americans are going to pay a lot to create all those problems. Some Americans will of course benefit financially from this folly but the average American is going to lose. The average Mexican is already losing. Corn tortilla prices have already risen to the point where there have been mass demonstrations and protests, and the price rises are just beginning. Ethanol based on sugar cane or sugar beets is another story. That actually IS a viable option to help with energy problems. You get much more ethanol output per given food input. That's why there are huge tariffs on Brazilian ethanol imports, which come from those sources.

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