More Consequences of Ethanol
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 13 years
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I have always believed that the ethanol mandate is a bad thing. Ethanol costs more to produce than gasoline, and consumes more energy than it yields when all inputs are considered. Not to mention the cost of cleaning a fuel system when it has been sitting in your gas tank for more than a couple of weeks during humid weather.
The most efficient form of energy available to humanity is fossil fuels, proved at least in part by the decrease in miles per gallon experienced with ethanol blended fuel. Nothing else comes close at least for now.
Side effects of ethanol use are numerous, particularly in older forms of modus transportus that are not designed for the corrosive ethanol content. I like classic cars & bikes for their simplicity and performance. Carburetors amplify the ill effects.
The diversion of food crops to my gas tank is another pain point. Which would we rather import: Our fuel or our food? Who has a high confidence in the safety of imported food products when our pets have already been the victims of toxic additives? Truth is, we don't have to import so much fuel now, so at least one of the arguments in favor of the mandate has achieved obsolescence.
The article linked below highlights yet another consequence of a short-sighted government mandate imposed upon the populace by people who don't consider all of the facts. I have written my members of congress about this issue over the last few years, and hoped that one of our sitting senators would get beat in last year's primary partly due to his role in getting us into the current situation. He has started to change his mind, but undoing bad legislation is difficult. It will take several senators and reps to overcome the current law.
http://energytomorro...oneybee-edition
Y'all have fun with this!
Biofuels
Biofuels are at best a boutique or tiny niche product. This was proven a few years ago when biofuel, ethanol and biodiesel, tried to make itself popular. It drove the price of corn, soy, etc. to astronomical levels. There is no way biofuel can make a dent in the overall fuel volume needs. And no way should food crops be diverted to fuel.
The simple fact is that we are consuming fuel reserves faster than we can produce sustainable fuel sources.
When you are dead, you don’t know that you are dead. It is only difficult for the others. It is the same when you are stupid.
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I have always believed that the ethanol mandate is a bad thing. Ethanol costs more to produce than gasoline, and consumes more energy than it yields when all inputs are considered. Not to mention the cost of cleaning a fuel system when it has been sitting in your gas tank for more than a couple of weeks during humid weather.
The most efficient form of energy available to humanity is fossil fuels, proved at least in part by the decrease in miles per gallon experienced with ethanol blended fuel. Nothing else comes close at least for now.
Side effects of ethanol use are numerous, particularly in older forms of modus transportus that are not designed for the corrosive ethanol content. I like classic cars & bikes for their simplicity and performance. Carburetors amplify the ill effects.
The diversion of food crops to my gas tank is another pain point. Which would we rather import: Our fuel or our food? Who has a high confidence in the safety of imported food products when our pets have already been the victims of toxic additives? Truth is, we don't have to import so much fuel now, so at least one of the arguments in favor of the mandate has achieved obsolescence.
The article linked below highlights yet another consequence of a short-sighted government mandate imposed upon the populace by people who don't consider all of the facts. I have written my members of congress about this issue over the last few years, and hoped that one of our sitting senators would get beat in last year's primary partly due to his role in getting us into the current situation. He has started to change his mind, but undoing bad legislation is difficult. It will take several senators and reps to overcome the current law.
http://energytomorro...oneybee-edition
Y'all have fun with this!
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Try: http://energytomorrow.org/blog/2015/january/ethanol-and-cons...
Nuvi 2460LMT
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I have always believed that the ethanol mandate is a bad thing. Ethanol costs more to produce than gasoline, and consumes more energy than it yields when all inputs are considered. Not to mention the cost of cleaning a fuel system when it has been sitting in your gas tank for more than a couple of weeks during humid weather.
The most efficient form of energy available to humanity is fossil fuels, proved at least in part by the decrease in miles per gallon experienced with ethanol blended fuel. Nothing else comes close at least for now.
Side effects of ethanol use are numerous, particularly in older forms of modus transportus that are not designed for the corrosive ethanol content. I like classic cars & bikes for their simplicity and performance. Carburetors amplify the ill effects.
The diversion of food crops to my gas tank is another pain point. Which would we rather import: Our fuel or our food? Who has a high confidence in the safety of imported food products when our pets have already been the victims of toxic additives? Truth is, we don't have to import so much fuel now, so at least one of the arguments in favor of the mandate has achieved obsolescence.
The article linked below highlights yet another consequence of a short-sighted government mandate imposed upon the populace by people who don't consider all of the facts. I have written my members of congress about this issue over the last few years, and hoped that one of our sitting senators would get beat in last year's primary partly due to his role in getting us into the current situation. He has started to change his mind, but undoing bad legislation is difficult. It will take several senators and reps to overcome the current law.
http://energytomorro...oneybee-edition
Y'all have fun with this!
I agree about the damaging effects of ethanol on older combustion engines, particularly small engines in lawn mowers, portable generators and outboard motors. In the interest of fairness though, there are a couple of points I’d like to add to your post.
Although far from perfect, there are additives on the market to eliminate moisture in ethanol blended fuels and help reduce contaminant build up. I use them in all my small engines. Unfortunately, they don’t eliminate ethanol related problems completely and aren’t practical for larger engines that consume a lot of fuel. http://www.jsonline.com/business/briggs--stratton-develops-a...
Ethanol is made mostly from corn here in the US which we do not import. In fact we are the 3rd largest exporter of corn in the world. http://www.statista.com/statistics/254299/top-global-corn-ex...
If and when it becomes necessary, ethanol can be produced from switchgrass which requires less water, less fertilizer and will grow on land not suitable for food production. http://growinggeorgia.com/features/2014/06/research-makes-sw...
Even if the government ethanol fuel mandate were lifted, the U.S. will continue to produce and export it. http://ethanolproducer.com/articles/10834/ethanol-exports-up... It isn’t going away.
On the down side, there is the environmental concern. Ethanol produces more co2 emissions than gasoline but reduces ozone levels: http://ecowatch.com/2014/05/02/ethanol-produces-more-co2-tha... Considering carbon emission and climate change, this is the biggest enemy of ethanol at this point.
It should be noted that the energytomorrow website: http://www.energytomorrow.org/know-the-facts is maintained by the oil and gas industry.
Although I’m not a big fan of ethanol as a fuel, it is a fact that sooner or later, the world will exhaust its supply of fossil fuels. It isn't too early to explore alternatives.