Why does anyone think that ethanol is a realistic alternative energy solution?

[bada_bing2k4]

It's a joke! First, there's the debate on whether or not there is actually MORE energy used to process the corn to get the ethanol than the ethanol is worth. At best, right now there is a 1:1.2 ration of energy in to energy out. That's not even close for something to run a nation on, especially a culture that uses the most energy per capita in the world.

Second, there isn't enough farm land in the world to plant enough corn to supply enough energy to the people of america. We're talking automobiles, homes, factories, businesses...we'd probably need 5 planets of corn with continuous cultivation.

Third, there is the whole nitrogen problem. Corn is a very inefficient plant at taking in nitrogen. Nitrogen has to be manufactured and poured all over the fields so that the corn grows fast and large enough. This requires even more energy, more pollution, and a big mess if corn plantations continue to spread with this new demand.
And please, don't even bring up palm oil...if you think that global warming is impacted by man, then using palm oil as an alternative energy may be the thing that kills us all.
And don't forget about all of the energy required to grow and cultivate corn...you don't just plant corn seeds and watch it grow...corn is one of the more difficult plants to grow. It requires huge fields to be plowed, machines to plant it, machines to cultivate it...all of those machines run on fossil fuels, and if you want them to run on ethanol, you're going to be getting even less out of the yield if you factor all of that in.

Or, we can do it all by hand and see a fraction of the yield.

 

[PHIL]

Why does anyone think that ethanol is a realistic alternative energy solution?

Well, if you're a corn farmer or part of the agri-business industry, there's a lot of money to be made if people THINK that it's a viable alternative. The price of corn in this part of the world has already gone up so much that some people in Mexico can't afford tortillas anymore.

If you're a senator or congressman from Iowa, you can take credit for getting federal subsidies for the development of ethanol and get yourself re-elected to another term. You can also (probably) get a lot of campaign money from agri-business companies.

Ain't life grand?

 

[Fall]

UHHHH Ok.

 

[grizzbr1]

But don't you think that by burning food in cars that more people will die of starvation and solve the root cause of Global Warming: overpopulation?

Maybe it's a good thing after all. Ironic ain't it?

 

[kerry k]

First of all, corn is not the only source for alcohol. Secondly, I seriously doubt that anyone has any dreams of alcohol replacing gasoline for everything. I believe that you are making more of the issue than what needs to be made. You also seem to forget that the mash that is left over is still a usable product as an animal feed. Alcohol is not the only thing to make up for oil, it is only an aid to the problem. There are other ways to produce fuel, and you have obviously not done your home work to even scratch the surface of what alternatives exist. The biggest issue is that people are waiting for the government, or the oil companies to do something, and they won't, not until it is financially profitable for them. Instead of knocking what is being tried, perhaps you should put that effort into helping to find solutions.