End the Ethanol Scam »
Posted By populist 6 months ago in Science & TechnologyThe politicians want us to burn more ethanol in our cars. Like most plans concocted by politicians, this one is a terrible idea that is having devastating consequences. Here are the facts about ethanol . . .
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populist
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1-2-Oscar6 months ago
Only a few months ago the member who submitted this article would condemn anyone who opposed the reckless rush toward ethanol. We were woefully shortsighted, enemies of the planet itself, and tools of greedy corporate interests.
What a difference the passage of a little time, and the inevitable recognition of a few facts can make.
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wildman65576 months ago
Shows that the member isn't a nonthinking bot (whether Bushbot or otherwise). Being able to change is a sign of intelligence.
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populist6 months ago
Could you point to a single example of your lie? um, i mean baseless nonsense? where the "member who submitted this article would condemn anyone who opposed the reckless rush toward ethanol"
What a jerk - you just make this garbage up.
Moving forward...
Government subsidies always end up in a total mess. Ethanol is just another example why we shouldn't trust politicians with the most important things in our lives.....energy, security, healthcare, education and the rest.
When you have politicians running things, you get nothing but political solutions - a small number benefits while the rest of us pay...
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DropkickaLib6 months ago
Who thought that burning food as fuel was smart? In any case, any agricultural product we use for ethanol is going to draw resources away from food production, at a time when India and China are buying more food on the world market than ever. A combination of short-sightedness in the search for alternative fuels, coupled with the realities of international economics makes ethanol a dead end.
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Dicax_Maximus6 months ago
Generally speaking, when a politician speaks, you can usually be sure of one of two things :-
1. They're lying
2. It's going to cost a multiple of the original amount.
In this case, you get a double whammy !!!!
Good find populist !
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ecotourusa6 months ago
I woke up early this morning and watched the BBC news on our public TV channel. one of the first stories featured was Haiti and the food crisis going on right now. Gosh that country is suffering...and ethanol production is one of the reasons. thanks populist. I still have a regular car that burns regular gas...but, I barely drive any more. I can walk, catch rides, and I use public transportation. we can all try a little to reduce our dependency on oil.
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ecotourusa6 months ago
another problem clueless is the govt's crackdown on contraband. they won't even let ships in with food on board in fear of contraband stowage.
don't be pointing fingers at the messenger. I heard the news about ethanol on the BBC.
the contraband issue on our local abc tv station documentary this evening.
do you have a clue? or, are you normally this way?
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quackpot6 months ago
This article is specifically referring to the use of corn to produce ethanol by a technologically primitive process.
The sole reason that the U.S. A. has rushed prematurely into this corn-based process is heavy lobbying by the BIG-agribusiness interests of the midwest (both large scale growers and seed producers such as Monsanto).
Lets hope that this poor experience will not repress legitimate research into means of producing alternate fuels (including ethanol) that make sense.
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Tangent0016 months ago
Cellulose-based ethanol production looks promising. It makes fuel out of corn stalks and even grass clippings.
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Nowalive6 months ago
Good find Pop
As a mechanic I have been railing against ethanol for years. Ethanol REDUCES fuel economy, REDUCES vehicle performance, burns NO CLEANER, and in some vehicles damages sensors and INCREASES harmful emissions. The article provides a link to the CATO study which tells how much the government subsidizes ethanol. Imagine what we could do with that $1.08 per gallon subsidy.... maybe repair the roads? If ethanol were viable, private enterprise would be scrambling to invest. Sadly it is not, so big daddy government has to pick up the slack again. I say let it fail.
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ecotourusa6 months ago
my comment above is in response to the nowalive comment above...propeller!
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DropkickaLib6 months ago
My pee, when I was in college, had a higher octane level than ethanol does.
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ZiegfeldGirl6 months ago
FROM: "RIGHT DEMOCRAT: A MAINSTREAM POPULIST VOICE"
"OUR FUEL CAN BE MADE IN THE U.S.A.
Senator Ben Nelson (D-NE) is right that our fuels need to have a "Made in America"sticker. We must move quickly to encourage the use of ethanol. It is a cleanand renewable fuel and increased use will be great for our nation's farmers as well as reducing the trade deficit.
One interesting thing that I learned recently is that ethanol can be produced not only from corn, but also from sugarcane. According to the New York Times (04/10/06), Brazil which has widespread use of ethanol gets eight times the yield from sugar cane based product that is made in their country than from corn based ethanol. We grow sugar cane already in Florida, Louisiana, Texas and Hawaii and sugar beets are grown inMinnesota and Montana. Our government needs to take the lead in promoting the development of sugar cane based ethanol in the United States."
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ZiegfeldGirl6 months ago
"All vehicles with engines built after 1970 can use the 10% ethanol, but we need to get more new vehicles on the road that have the capability of using the E-85 ethanol which consists of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline."
http://rightdemocrat.blogspot.com/2006/06/popul...
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bill29366 months ago
My only surprise is that this came about so quickly. It seems the eco-Klan is always pushing for something. Then normally in a few years they rally against it. Wind turbines, now found to kill birds. Geothermal, now found to cause more intense earthquakes. Just wait, the new one from an article yesterday was producing power from undersea tides. Just wait, soon we will hear how it hurts some 'endangerred fish'. Then again it is snow in April in Kansas, so much for 'Global Warming'.
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ScrimshawComment removed: User banned.
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skeptic2716 months ago
"Just wait, the new one from an article yesterday was producing power from undersea tides."
Didn't you know extracting energy form tides is extracting energy from the rotation of the earth which lengthens our days.
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quackpot6 months ago
Wrong again bill
It is the LARGE AGRI-BUSINESS folks that have been behind this push toward ethanol-from-corn. Large argi-bunsiness is FAR FAR FAR from "eco-klan".
The rest of your post that derides the responsible development of programs to explore new sources of energy is just nonsense.
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globalwarmer6 months ago
Sometimes I feel like I'm living in Bizzarro world where wrong is right and right is wrong. Is this ethanol machine to big and powerful to shut down?
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Webreader6 months ago
Case Closed! Read the article. Hey, this topsy turvey stuff has been going on at least since the complicated IC engines pushed by the fledgling GM (the ones still under our hoods today) beat out the Stanley Brothers who had a simpler, quieter, more powerful, flex fuel steamers. Electrics were also successful in the 1920s, way before we had the more advanced battery technology to build a car like the Tesla today.
You race fans have certainly seen the pit-stop accidents where the alcohol fuel spilled has severely burned drivers and crew members. You want that stuff in your family buggy's fuel tank? Much higher combustion temperature. Must be "Hell" inside our engines, too!
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Gransater6 months ago
On one of my travels abroad, now a few years ago, I ended up in Brazil. While there I rented a car, and was advised to be carefull to only put in their variant of ethanol fuel, and not regular fuel.
The car drove ok, but it certainly wasn't the rocket sled I'm used to here at home. What got to me though, is that nearly everyone I spoke to, when it came to cars, said that they had intense dislike for ethanol fueled cars. Acording to them, the car runs hotter, needs service more often, uses more fuel than regular gas, and, this is the big one, the engine wore out long before a normal gasoline powered car.
Now, this is from the guys on the street, the ones that have to pay for their own cars. Even taking some bias in consideration, I'd say that the overwhelming majority were against these cars.
Also, I know that there are Brasilians on this site, and I have yet to see anyone from there saying anything positive about ethanol.
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wtagg6 months ago
I guess I don't understand why, based on what amounts to a blog, there is another rush to judgment. A rush to condemn is just as bad as a rush to endorse.
Considering the security risk that gasoline and oil represent, I am surprised that there is such a rush to keep endorsing the use of it. We need to keep looking for alternatives that can remove or dependence upon foreign resources as soon as possible or we just continue to fund our adversaries.
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canadianrancher576 months ago
I have alwys felt that the ethanol idea was being overplayed, it has been a terrible waste of money and resources. If this money had been spent on developing a better type of battery we would be well on the way to an electric car that could get reasonable milage between recharging. Although the idea may not seem to really get people excited it is the way of the future. The artical confirmed what many have said, and I also agree with the comments that this has allowed some of the agri-giants to suck some money out of more than just farmers, If people think that oil companies are a threat just wait until these companies have total control of the agri-business.
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billcorno6 months ago
If it's a loser (using ethanol), it'll die it's natural death, I think. In the meantime, I would like to see it given a shot.
Giving my money to American farmers is a lot better than Arab sheiks and big oil company execs (both in the same income bracket, really.) My opinion.
And yes, one out of eight jobs here has to do with the present automobile industry, so there are some massive changes on the horizon. Lots of resistance, I think. But there will be lots of new jobs with the "new" economy.
So, while I'm waiting for some Brazilians to logon here as they do occasionally (?), I'll just add a "lib" comment, for a little mixin'-it-up.
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