Clay Davenport
Cerebral Nomad
Another thread in this section about feed prices has brought this issue up as well so I wanted to start a new thread on it, as it is something that has been bothering me for several years.
We need to do anything we can to curtail this ethanol push we are seeing from the government and the environmentalists.
To just say we are replacing 10% of our gasoline use with ethanol sounds real good on the surface, but these people who are such strong supporters of it either are ignorant of the truth or simply refuse to accept it.
Ethanol, in actuality, provides a negative return on energy. Consider the amount of petroleum consumed in the production of the ethanol to begin with, diesel used to power the machines that plow and plant and harvest the fields, the petroleum used in the fertilizer itself and the production of it, and the petroleum used in the processing of the corn into ethanol.
Then consider the effect it has on your car. My truck for instance (I've done the measurements) suffers a 15% decrease in gas mileage using 10% ethanol gas versus ethanol free gas. If you're replacing 10% of the gasoline with ethanol and getting 15% lower gas mileage, where is the benefit?
At my rate of mileage, I can pay as much as 50 cents per gallon more for ethanol free gasoline and still break even as compared to using the 10% ethanol.
All this is not even considering the damage done to the engines, especially older vehicles and all small engines, boats, and motorcycles.
Now consider that somewhere in the neighborhood of 90% of all packaged foods contains some form of corn.
Two years ago I heard on the radio that that season a full third of the Kansas corn production was going to ethanol. That's the only actual figure I've heard, but it's feasible that the figures would be in the same range nation wide.
If you're taking around a third of the corn crop right off the top to produce a fuel that is a losing proposition, then trying to feed both ourselves and our livestock with the remainder, while continuing to export, it becomes very obvious why virtually all food prices have risen significantly, in some cases doubled or even tripled in the last five years. As an example 5 years ago I was buying ground beef for 99 cents a pound and today it averages 3.68 per pound.
I'm not saying ethanol is the sole reason for this, the devaluing of the dollar and inflation have played their parts as well, but the decreased availability of corn for food does play a large role.
Right now in my area there are still a couple of gas stations that continue to sell ethanol free gasoline. I buy all my fuel needs from those places for every vehicle and gas powered tool I own. I use no gas whatsoever that contains ethanol. I would encourage anyone else who has access to ethanol free gas to do the same. If it's more expensive, as it is for me, check your gas mileage, and I'll bet you'll still save money even when paying the extra for the gas to begin with.
I don't know how it is in other states, but in NC, the fuel depots actually discourage the sale of non ethanol gas by a form of discrimination.
When a tanker goes to load up for delivery there are two tanks they stop at, one puts gasoline in the tanker, and the next puts in the ethanol to achieve the 10% mix.
The trucks of course line up for access to the loading areas.
If a driver comes to get a load of non ethanol fuel, he is made to wait until all of the other drivers are loaded before he can load. This means a driver arriving at 7am might actually have to wait until late afternoon to get loaded.
As a result of these practices only one of our local fuel distributors will still haul non ethanol fuel.
Until we can convince our ignorant uninformed lawmakers, as well as the ones who are benefiting from the practice to change their regulations, if you have access to non ethanol fuel use it, in everything you have. For the time being speaking with your wallet is the only thing we have to do.
Ethanol is not the answer to our energy needs, that is not if we also want to eat ourselves and feed our livestock.
We need to do anything we can to curtail this ethanol push we are seeing from the government and the environmentalists.
To just say we are replacing 10% of our gasoline use with ethanol sounds real good on the surface, but these people who are such strong supporters of it either are ignorant of the truth or simply refuse to accept it.
Ethanol, in actuality, provides a negative return on energy. Consider the amount of petroleum consumed in the production of the ethanol to begin with, diesel used to power the machines that plow and plant and harvest the fields, the petroleum used in the fertilizer itself and the production of it, and the petroleum used in the processing of the corn into ethanol.
Then consider the effect it has on your car. My truck for instance (I've done the measurements) suffers a 15% decrease in gas mileage using 10% ethanol gas versus ethanol free gas. If you're replacing 10% of the gasoline with ethanol and getting 15% lower gas mileage, where is the benefit?
At my rate of mileage, I can pay as much as 50 cents per gallon more for ethanol free gasoline and still break even as compared to using the 10% ethanol.
All this is not even considering the damage done to the engines, especially older vehicles and all small engines, boats, and motorcycles.
Now consider that somewhere in the neighborhood of 90% of all packaged foods contains some form of corn.
Two years ago I heard on the radio that that season a full third of the Kansas corn production was going to ethanol. That's the only actual figure I've heard, but it's feasible that the figures would be in the same range nation wide.
If you're taking around a third of the corn crop right off the top to produce a fuel that is a losing proposition, then trying to feed both ourselves and our livestock with the remainder, while continuing to export, it becomes very obvious why virtually all food prices have risen significantly, in some cases doubled or even tripled in the last five years. As an example 5 years ago I was buying ground beef for 99 cents a pound and today it averages 3.68 per pound.
I'm not saying ethanol is the sole reason for this, the devaluing of the dollar and inflation have played their parts as well, but the decreased availability of corn for food does play a large role.
Right now in my area there are still a couple of gas stations that continue to sell ethanol free gasoline. I buy all my fuel needs from those places for every vehicle and gas powered tool I own. I use no gas whatsoever that contains ethanol. I would encourage anyone else who has access to ethanol free gas to do the same. If it's more expensive, as it is for me, check your gas mileage, and I'll bet you'll still save money even when paying the extra for the gas to begin with.
I don't know how it is in other states, but in NC, the fuel depots actually discourage the sale of non ethanol gas by a form of discrimination.
When a tanker goes to load up for delivery there are two tanks they stop at, one puts gasoline in the tanker, and the next puts in the ethanol to achieve the 10% mix.
The trucks of course line up for access to the loading areas.
If a driver comes to get a load of non ethanol fuel, he is made to wait until all of the other drivers are loaded before he can load. This means a driver arriving at 7am might actually have to wait until late afternoon to get loaded.
As a result of these practices only one of our local fuel distributors will still haul non ethanol fuel.
Until we can convince our ignorant uninformed lawmakers, as well as the ones who are benefiting from the practice to change their regulations, if you have access to non ethanol fuel use it, in everything you have. For the time being speaking with your wallet is the only thing we have to do.
Ethanol is not the answer to our energy needs, that is not if we also want to eat ourselves and feed our livestock.
