| 6/20/2008 10:59:24 AM | Ethanol....Not The Answer. What Do You Think? | |
justme68
Cleveland, OH
age: 42
| Okay...for all of the believers in Ethanol , here are some hard facts.
1. Corn Ethanol is 25% - 30% less efficiant than gasoline.
2. Current cost of Ethanol is about $4.00 per gallon.
3. It takes close to 450 pounds of corn to produce enough Ethanol to fill up an
SUV.
4. It takes 3-4 gallons of fresh water to produce one gallon of Ethanol , and
currently Ethanol refineries are using 2 billion gallons of fresh water a year.
Question... where will this fresh water eventually have to be taken from? Can you
say , "The Great Lakes"?
Don't we already have a problem in this country with the shortage of fresh water
supply in certain parts of the country?
Won't using our corn crops for Ethanol drive the price of corn up , leading to an
eventual shortage? The price of produce is already skyrocketing.
Some logical alternatives...
1. Offshore drilling for oil. There is at least a 100 year supply right off our shores.
Unfortunately... Environmentalists and certain members of the Demacratic party will
fight against it.
2. Nuclear power.
3. Build more American refinerys , which should have been done many years ago.
4. Concentrate on our own natural resources.
So....lets hear what people have to say about all of this.
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| 6/20/2008 11:02:41 AM | Ethanol....Not The Answer. What Do You Think? | |
keeper99
Dover, DE
age: 41
| say goodbye to your engine....and spend on getting something that can handle it or buy elec.car
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| 6/20/2008 11:13:02 AM | Ethanol....Not The Answer. What Do You Think? | |
pwin_here_n_now
Annapolis, MD
age: 38
| There are other biofuels and much study is going on currently, especially here in Maryland which is home to the Chesapeake bay- These alternatives for corn ethanol are refered to as celluistic biofuels - the sources include Corn husks/ stalks, switch grass, sugar cane, potatoes, and even biodegradable garbage (food cuttings etc.);
I agree with the dangers of driving a particular crop through the roof. Hopefully, lobbyists for corn farmer won't get far... But then again - As we all know too well, Money Talks...
P.Win
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| 6/20/2008 11:20:59 AM | Ethanol....Not The Answer. What Do You Think? | |
eightinchbend
Gadsden, AL
age: 44 online now!
| Corn ethenol is good because we can manufacter our own and not dependent on other countries for it...
now all the have to do is bring the price down and make cars more effiecent and it could work out well.
Therin lies the problem: The affordability of such automobiles. I believe there is an archived interview on National Public Radio's Website about this. As I recall from hearing it first hand (just over a year ago), the consensus was that the unit cost of an alternative fuel-based automobile and the cost of maintenance would be considerable. By the time the car "pays for itself" through lowering fuel costs, the car would no longer have trade in value (which automaticlly kills resale value).
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| 6/20/2008 11:39:14 AM | Ethanol....Not The Answer. What Do You Think? | |
justme68
Cleveland, OH
age: 42
| Outstanding reply eightinchbend.
Great point keeper99.
Den15x12...Sure we can manufacture our own ehtanol , but at what cost. Refer to eightinchbends post. What about the the amount of fresh water that would be needed? If we drilled offshore , right in our own back yard we would not have to be so dependent on other countries. Example..Brazil just found one of the largest pockets of oil ever right off of their shores.
pwin-here-n-now...good points , but the fact is biofuels are just not an efficiant alternative. And do you honestly think that we can get the automobile industry to comply?
Once again , refer to eightinchbends post.
And one important fact...the cost of one gallon of ethanol is currently $4.00 pergallon.
 How would I be saving??
[Edited 6/20/2008 11:41:48 AM]
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| 6/20/2008 11:54:24 AM | Ethanol....Not The Answer. What Do You Think? | |
eightinchbend
Gadsden, AL
age: 44 online now!
| Brazil just found one of the largest pockets of oil ever right off of their shores.
And one important fact...the cost of one gallon of ethanol is currently $4.00 pergallon.
How would I be saving??
Now, this is what I'm straining to hear more of from the viewpoints of both Senator Obama and Senator McCain; Current relations with South America aren't horrible, but things could be a lot better. The U.S. refusal of South America's offer to contribute millions toward the Katrina relief in 2005 is something that they have not forgotten, so whatever "bad-blood" lies between both our nations needs to be addressed prior to negotiations for crude oil.
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| 6/20/2008 11:59:56 AM | Ethanol....Not The Answer. What Do You Think? | |
justme68
Cleveland, OH
age: 42
| I agree with your point eightinch. The truth is there , but so many are blind to it. That statement was not intended to offend anyone.
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| 6/20/2008 12:02:39 PM | Ethanol....Not The Answer. What Do You Think? | |
eightinchbend
Gadsden, AL
age: 44 online now!
| I agree with your point eightinch. The truth is there , but so many are blind to it. That statement was not intended to offend anyone.
No, you are correct in the fact that we do not know enough facts behind the issue of oil reserves outside of the United States and the United Arab Emerates.
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| 6/20/2008 12:10:54 PM | Ethanol....Not The Answer. What Do You Think? | |
justme68
Cleveland, OH
age: 42
| Kind of makes you wonder who is really in control. We're like puppets on a string.
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| 6/20/2008 1:55:59 PM | Ethanol....Not The Answer. What Do You Think? | |
llfuzzball
Denver, CO
age: 43
| Justme, you are totally right.
Using food for fuel is not a good idea. Ethanol is the reason why people are rioting in other coutries because there is s food shortage.
Corn is a staple food for poor people.
The price of oil and the cost of making ethanol is the reason why everything else has gone up in price.
We have more oil here in the USA than the middle east has. Let's go get it!
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| 6/20/2008 7:15:22 PM | Ethanol....Not The Answer. What Do You Think? | |
edawg2
Knoxville, TN
age: 60
| No because the cost of our bread, Fritos and all other grain products will go up and we'll also be responsible for the starvation of millions overseas who depend on these staples just to live. A line has to be drawn between our convenience and the good of all mankind.
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| 6/20/2008 7:32:28 PM | Ethanol....Not The Answer. What Do You Think? | |
dakwa
Tulsa, OK
age: 47
| Okay...for all of the believers in Ethanol , here are some hard facts.
1. Corn Ethanol is 25% - 30% less efficiant than gasoline.
2. Current cost of Ethanol is about $4.00 per gallon.
3. It takes close to 450 pounds of corn to produce enough Ethanol to fill up an
SUV.
4. It takes 3-4 gallons of fresh water to produce one gallon of Ethanol , and
currently Ethanol refineries are using 2 billion gallons of fresh water a year.
Question... where will this fresh water eventually have to be taken from? Can you
say , "The Great Lakes"?
Don't we already have a problem in this country with the shortage of fresh water
supply in certain parts of the country?
Won't using our corn crops for Ethanol drive the price of corn up , leading to an
eventual shortage? The price of produce is already skyrocketing.
Some logical alternatives...
1. Offshore drilling for oil. There is at least a 100 year supply right off our shores.
Unfortunately... Environmentalists and certain members of the Demacratic party will
fight against it.
2. Nuclear power.
3. Build more American refinerys , which should have been done many years ago.
4. Concentrate on our own natural resources.
So....lets hear what people have to say about all of this.
Ok lets look at things, the corn issue is actually a joke that is presently jacking up our market costs of beef. To be honest, we throw away almost as much corn every year that is not used as would be needed for the production of eth. Second on the Eth, is that the main by-product of burning it, is Soliumdioxcide, the main component for Acid rain, but you'll never hear the evironmental wackos and Dems talk about that either.
Nuclear power? How many remember the dump for the waste product of these places that leacked into the city's water supply in Texas? Yes we have no effective way to handle the waste, so this is a technique that is more dangerous than effective to use.
Drilling and building more effective refineries until we can develop a better source is our only answer at this time.
But I can tell you from personal experience that developing any system that would replace oil is seriously time consuming.
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| 6/20/2008 9:27:51 PM | Ethanol....Not The Answer. What Do You Think? | |
stargazzer
Creighton, NE
age: 60
| It needs to be atacked by all feasable means at this time, short term & long term. Need to drill, and build nucular plants. But the most Important thing we all need to do is forget political parties in this election and Vote out every incumbant politican every one!!!!! And do not vote for Oboma or McCain. This will put government in action and get things done. If you vote much as you have in the past........? Forget it for it is allready over then. This is your last chance and unless you do you will not get another chance 4 years from now as your world will have changed forever. It is up to YOU!!!!
[Edited 6/20/2008 9:45:10 PM]
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| 6/20/2008 9:39:27 PM | Ethanol....Not The Answer. What Do You Think? | |
lust4love
Atco, NJ
age: 38
| Is gas-a-hol the same thing? My dad would use that during the 70s gas crisis.He claimed it gave him better gas milage and his truck ran better.I believe if we concentrate our technology on making fuel alternatives we can lower prices in the long run.its about time we used our technology for something other than cellphones and computer crap.
I hope my laptop didnt hear me,she doesnt run well when i talk about her that way.
[Edited 6/20/2008 9:40:55 PM]
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| 6/20/2008 9:47:35 PM | Ethanol....Not The Answer. What Do You Think? | |
michael061
Clay, WV
age: 61
| I think this is a "feel good fuel". It takes more energy to produce it, than the finished product provides. The cost is over $4 a gallon, and it is only about 70 percent as efficient as gasoline.
The price of Ethanol will sky rocket because of the recent flooding in the midwest. Food prices will continue to go up at an alarming rate.
Ethanol is an idea that failed totally.
It is time to cut back and allow whatever corn we still have to be used to feed our people. If we continue to use our very limited supply of corn to make ethanol, lots of people will starve to death in other countries. People here will probably not starve to death, but they will have to cut way back on their eating habits. The poor will have to do without enouth food to keep them healthy.
We are very near to the place where this foolishness is going to take us into a deep depression.
I know Americans think we are better than Hitler was. However, when our people start to starve to death, and when we start having to take a wheel barrow of cash to get a loaf of bread, I think you might find that Americans will do terrible things.
This is crazy! We need to act now.
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