If biofuels were readily available, would you use them?

Its your dollar and your truck, bio fuels have their negative side and so does diesel fuel. The end product is "what it cost you to go from point A to point B. If the price of fuel reaches $5.00 dollars a gal thousands of rigs will be setting in parking lots.

 

Won't E85 production deplete human and animal food supplies?

No, actually the production of ethanol from corn uses only the starch of the corn kernel, all of the valuable protein, minerals and nutrients remain. One bushel of corn produces about 2.7 gallons of ethanol AND 11.4 pounds of gluten feed (20% protein) AND 3 pounds of gluten meal (60% protein) AND 1.6 pounds of corn oil.

Ethanol does not benefit farmers.

The ethanol industry opens a new market for corn growers, allowing them to enjoy greater profitability. Studies have shown that corn prices in areas near ethanol plants tend to be 5 to 10 cents per bushel higher than in other areas. This additional income helps cut the costs of farm programs and add vitality to rural economies. The additional profit potential for farmers created by ethanol production allows more farmers to stay in business — helping ensure adequate food supplies in the future. Ethanol production also creates jobs, many of which are in rural communities where good jobs are hard to come by. A 2005 study by LECG found the ethanol industry powered the U.S. economy by creating more than 147,000 jobs, boosting U.S. household income by $4.4 billion and reducing the U.S. trade deficit by $5.1 billion by eliminating the need to import 143.3 million barrels of oil. Those kinds of numbers help farmers and all Americans.

Ethanol production wastes corn that could be used to feed a hungry world.

Corn used for ethanol production is field corn typically used to feed livestock. Wet mill ethanol production facilities, also known as corn refineries, also produce starch, corn sweeteners, and corn oil — all products that are used as food ingredients for human consumption. Ethanol production also results in the production of distiller’s grains and gluten feed — both of which are fed to livestock, helping produce high-quality meat products for distribution domestically and abroad. There is no shortage of corn. In 2004, U.S. farmers produced a record 11.8 billion bushel corn harvest — and some 1.3 billion bushels (about 11 percent) were used in ethanol production. Additionally, the 2005 crop was among the largest on record. 2007 will yield the largest corn crop since the 1940s. In other words, there is still room to significantly grow the ethanol market without limiting the availability of corn. Steadily increasing corn yields and the improved ability of other nations to grow corn also make it clear that ethanol production can continue to grow without affecting the food supply.

The First car from Henry Ford ran on ethanol.

 

Your post might have more credibility if it didn't come from a pro-ethanol site.

Again, if corn is $7.00 EVERYTHING you buy is going to cost more because almost EVERYTHING in your grocery store has corn or a corn product in it. Ethanol can not survive without subsidies, a car running E85 gets fewer MPG than one running gasoline. Keep burning your food if makes your feel better.

 

A pro-ethanol website has nothing to do with this, the facts on the pro-ethanol website do though and you didn't provide anything showing them as incorrect. Doesn't that kinda make you the one with no credibility?

Yes, ethanol gets subsidies but it wouldn't be very fair if everybody else like oil/natural gas/coal gets them and ethanol didn't would it? On top of this, the true cost of a gallon of gas/fuel is over double the pump price which makes the true cost of ethanol an absolute bargain in comparison.

And yes, cars running E85 get less miles per gallon because they run engines that must be optimized for running both gas and alcohol or any combination of the two, but this is still much cheaper than the true cost of gas/diesel.

As for the cost thingy, this should really piss you off as it surely does me! Every year the US Government pays farmers over 25 billion dollars to keep 60 million acres (that's bigger than Ohio and Indiana combined!) out of production to keep farm commodity prices stable. The point being, those that say ethanol is not cost effective/raises corn prices should blame the government, not say ethanol cannot compete as it's much cheaper than gasoline taking this into consideration.

Right now the world's economy is based on fossil oil and we cannot make big changes rapidly i.e. macroeconomics, but change is coming and none to soon.

Besides ethanol made from corn, a recent USDA report shows 30% of our total consumption can be met just using current agriculture/forestry waste and this is not including the 60 million acres we pay 25 billion dollars a year for mentioned above.

 

Would I use it? Don't have a choice. Almost all is sold with bio-diesel added - some as high as 20%. And depending on the state there is no law that says they have to indicate levels below 20%. And the kicker. They do it because they get a tax break.

On the E85 - run it in wifes car and have many friends that run it. If you are not a lead foot then you will get as good of MPG as the E10. But test have to be done based on how they are doing the test for the MPG that they post on the car. So if you drive like that - you know,the racing from stop sign to stop sign - then you will not get as good of MPG with E85.

 

This is like the whole sweat spot on a truck. Keep saying it long enough and it is a fact.

Any subsidies that farmers are using now that keep them from producing is because they are working the system. One of my favorites is that if they work as part of a study they get paid for it. And if they are not able to produce 90% of the average from last year then the government will make up the difference. So farmers don't plant and give some reason on the form and get a check.

Many other ways that this is being done but not as a program to stabalize corn prices like they did with milk.

 

Vehicles running E85 typically get 20-25% less mileage then running straight gasoline and I have never heard nor seen where it’s possible to do what you are saying here.

There have been a few exceptions like the 3.5L in the Chevrolet Impala that gets 10% better mileage running E20 over straight gasoline but when running E85 there is a drop in mileage no matter how it’s driven. If you have any scientific research showing what you are saying I would love to see it.

 

Yes, farmers work the system and the reason I listed is the reason given by our government when asked why these absurd rip-offs are given out.

“Farmers” are now mostly corporate conglomerates and anyway you label it, American taxpayers paying huge money for this huge rip-off every year needs to stop.

 

You are correct that most farms are huge corporations today--I wonder if you remember when the area you live in was still surrounded by family farms(and yes I grew up there)--I know it is a moot point today--but there still area's in this country were there are thousands of family farms just trying to survive--and most of them dealing with the corporations trying to(among other things)force them out--using the system--while systematically making small competition almost impossible--kinda like the mega-carriers vs O/Os--Just thought I would point this out in this post--
Remember no farms=no food
http://www.farmland.org/actioncenter/no-farms-no-food/local-food.asp
Y'all might want to check this website out--
just my $.02

 

There is four versions of corn, Sweet, Dent, Flint and Unusual Varieties. which one and is used for ethanol? I well give you a hint is not sweet corn or Flint corn.

You have to remember all this corn seed is owned by Montesano and Dupont they owned all the patents on corn seed and all the hybrids. Every seed of corn there is about 4 or 5 hybrids of each seed.

If DDGS (Distiller's Dried Grains with Solubles) were included in the count of U.S. corn use, it would help kill misinformation about food vs. fuel. “More than a third of all corn that goes into ethanol production is returned to the food chain in the form of highly valued, nutritious livestock feed that replaces a greater volume of field corn, thereby saving livestock producers money". There has been a willful effort to distort the truth about our nation’s ability to provide both food and fuel, mostly from the companies that seek to profit from high grocery store prices.