Quote:
Originally Posted by Matt L
You need a bit more of it, but you can generate more power with the same engine on alcohol v. gasoline. And as production of alcohol increases, the price will decrease, as it does for everything except for limited resources like fossile fuels. The only losers are those who invest in oil fields.
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Your great grandchildren will be driving gasoline cars.
Ethanol has a cost factor MUCH greater than 1 and an energy factor less than 1 compared to gasoline. It is economically unsound at todays prices. The full cost of ethanol is not apparent, you have to input all the farming costs, which includes government subsidies to farmers.
Now you have to factor in the transport of ethanol. Corn is in the center of the country, the refineries are on the coasts. You can't transport ethanol through a pipeline because its hydroscopic so all you can do is go by truck or train and guess what they run on? Hint: diesel. So you burn a lot of fossil fuel in your effort to save fossil fuel.
The bottom line is not only are you shifting costs from you left pocket to your right pocket, they are increasing during the exchange.
Its the same as electric car proponents, you may not run on gas, but something was more than likely burned elsewhere to generate that electricity.
We are a consumption society and until our back is against the wall, we won't learn to conserve. We just enjoy our gluttony too much. And that gluttony is lifestyle, energy is just the fuel to run it.