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E85 and a consequence of ethanol production
You should know that mileage with E85 decreases in your flex fuel vehicle. I think I saw a 3-5 miles decrease in some listings. So a 16-20 MPG SUV will get 13-15 MPG on E85, simple science really...less energy per gallon, so it needs more to go the same stretch as traditional gas.
They are adding ethanol plants in Iowa as fast as they can go up! It seems everyone in Iowa has gone crazy over ethanol.
I'm surprised to read this in a local paper (midwestern paper):
For every action there is a reaction....
Midwest corn boom threatens to expand 'dead zone' in Gulf
December 18, 2007
The Associated Press
JEFFERSON, Iowa -- Because of rising demand for ethanol, American farmers are growing more corn than at any time since World War II. And sea life in the Gulf of Mexico is paying the price.
The nation's corn crop is fertilized with millions of pounds of nitrogen-based fertilizer. And when that nitrogen runs off fields in Corn Belt states, it makes its way to the Mississippi River and eventually pours into the Gulf, where it contributes to a growing "dead zone" -- a 7,900-square-mile patch so depleted of oxygen that fish, crabs and shrimp suffocate.
The dead zone was discovered in 1985 and has grown fairly steadily since then, forcing fishermen to venture farther and farther out to sea to find their catch. For decades, fertilizer has been considered the prime cause of the lifeless spot.
With demand for corn booming, some researchers fear the dead zone will expand rapidly, with devastating consequences.
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