Quote:
Originally posted by Nathans_Dad
From what I understand, the people against ethanol argue that if you include the energy costs involved in growing and harvesting the corn into the equation along with the energy needed to actually produce the ethanol, then it takes more fossil fuel to produce the ethanol than you get out.
Another interesting point which was made on NPR this morning is that the corn which would go towards ethanol production is currently sold cheaply as animal feed. Therefore, if we start making more ethanol the price of things like pork and beef will increase.
I'm all for alternative fuels, but I think we should look at these things critically and really choose the best one.
|
I'd love the marketplace to come up with a better fuel than that made from petroleum. I don't expect that to occur within several normal human lifetimes because petroleum is cheap and abundant, has a large infrastructure in place, and is very efficient. There is some inroads being made in biodiesel, I am using B20 diesel now, and it's easily found around here. I'm not sure, though, that it's as fuel efficient as standard petrodiesel fuel is.