Post by WVsnowflake on Apr 9, 2008 10:33:08 GMT -6
there are a lot of ethanol plants being made right now, Hubby is working on one, one is being finnished in Lipsic Ohio, And we are being transfered to one. There is also a rumor floating around that they want to build 20 in Texas...... Makes ya wonder huh 
Recently you’ve probably heard some buzz about ethanol — through advertisements, magazine articles, news reports, etc. You may have even seen ethanol at your local gas station. But step back from the positive impressions you may have because despite the hype, ethanol isn’t an easy solution to our oil addiction. In fact, there are many nuanced and complicated issues around this biofuel. Whether it’s the current or future forms of ethanol, there are pros and cons, promises and perils.
What is ethanol?
Ethanol is ethyl alcohol, sometimes also called “grain alcohol.” In the United States, most ethanol fuel is produced from corn. In a nutshell, ethanol is made by fermenting the sugar and starch in the corn into alcohol, which is then separated from the water by distillation.
You’re far more likely to encounter ethanol as a gasoline additive rather than a full-fledged fuel. E10 (10 percent ethanol, 90 percent gasoline) can be used in any gas engine and is much more widely available than E85 (85 percent ethanol, 15 percent gasoline), which can only be used in “ flex-fuel” cars and trucks.
So what’s wrong with ethanol?
The first and foremost problem with today’s ethanol is it comes from corn, one of the most prominent food crops worldwide. Growing a crop for both food and fuel is problematic because the increased demand for the food crop leads to higher food prices. This, among other factors, has caused worldwide corn and grain production to struggle to keep up and prices have risen to record levels.
Lester Brown, president of the Earth Policy Institute, describes this as the beginning of a great tragedy. “The United States, in a misguided effort to reduce its oil insecurity by converting grain into fuel for cars, is generating global food insecurity on a scale never seen before,” he writes.
But that’s not all that pops the argument for corn-derived ethanol:
www.motherearthnews.com/Green-Transportation/Ethanol-Pros-And-Cons.aspx
Recently you’ve probably heard some buzz about ethanol — through advertisements, magazine articles, news reports, etc. You may have even seen ethanol at your local gas station. But step back from the positive impressions you may have because despite the hype, ethanol isn’t an easy solution to our oil addiction. In fact, there are many nuanced and complicated issues around this biofuel. Whether it’s the current or future forms of ethanol, there are pros and cons, promises and perils.
What is ethanol?
Ethanol is ethyl alcohol, sometimes also called “grain alcohol.” In the United States, most ethanol fuel is produced from corn. In a nutshell, ethanol is made by fermenting the sugar and starch in the corn into alcohol, which is then separated from the water by distillation.
You’re far more likely to encounter ethanol as a gasoline additive rather than a full-fledged fuel. E10 (10 percent ethanol, 90 percent gasoline) can be used in any gas engine and is much more widely available than E85 (85 percent ethanol, 15 percent gasoline), which can only be used in “ flex-fuel” cars and trucks.
So what’s wrong with ethanol?
The first and foremost problem with today’s ethanol is it comes from corn, one of the most prominent food crops worldwide. Growing a crop for both food and fuel is problematic because the increased demand for the food crop leads to higher food prices. This, among other factors, has caused worldwide corn and grain production to struggle to keep up and prices have risen to record levels.
Lester Brown, president of the Earth Policy Institute, describes this as the beginning of a great tragedy. “The United States, in a misguided effort to reduce its oil insecurity by converting grain into fuel for cars, is generating global food insecurity on a scale never seen before,” he writes.
But that’s not all that pops the argument for corn-derived ethanol:
www.motherearthnews.com/Green-Transportation/Ethanol-Pros-And-Cons.aspx
