Posted on 11/15/2010 2:39:17 PM PST by bananaman22
The Energy Information Administration (EIA) reports for August that U.S. ethanol production rose in August to an all-time high, production averaged more than 869,000 barrels per day (b/d). The Renewable Fuels Association who also collects data calculated ethanol demand at all-time high as well at 911,000 b/d in August, up from 734,000 b/d a year ago.
The U.S. is closing in on the million barrel per day milestone. Cheers in some sections, groans in others, but for America, slashing off the equivalent of 750,000 b/d of imported oil is a good thing.
Most groans come from the odd couple of the oil business and the special mis-interests of food vs. fuel. The oil business, god bless’em, are in a quandary – one side is hell bent on doing the business as done for 150 years – another is ready to resist and protect its market and share – another is investing and researching with a realization that every bit of energy in fuel has market and profit potential – and a few have jumped into ethanol grabbing some facility during the ethanol build up bubble for cents on the dollars. Some companies work at some or all of the quandary barriers. Its quite interesting to watch.
The mis-interests meanwhile have a hard time making way, the corn they so love is as a practical matter human inedible – sweet corn its not – while the ultra cheap high fructose corn sweetener of considerable concern in the fattening and obesity of Americans is getting closer to the price of sugar. Factually, sugar whether from corn or sugarcane or sugar beets is still cheap – for food it’s the processing and packaging that costs the big dollars. Full article at: Ethanol production
How much food is removed from our pantries to create 1 million gallons of fuel?
At what intangible impact to the basic food value/price of our nation’s crops? If it has to be subsidized, it ain’t worth a crap.
And it’s all subsidized. I really hate that stuff. It seriously affects my mileage.
I mis-read that.
How much food is used to make 1 million barrels of ethanol?
Ethanol is vodka...it doesn’t pollute the groundwater.
I thought it was gas mixed with the 10% alcohol called ethanol. Maybe I am wrong?
In unrelated news, the US ethenol industry announced that due to it’s conservation efforts, it was now only consuming 1.5 million gallons of fossil fuels per day.
It’s still true isn’t it? It takes about 1.5 gallons of fossil fuels to produce 1 gallon of corn ethenol.
Zero. The corn used to produce ethanol is not “food” corn — so the thought that the price of our food is impacted by ethanol production is a myth.
Now that being said, there’s another related argument that is you’re growing ‘ethanol corn’, you have less land space available to grow food crops, and therefore less food is being produced, lowering the supply, etc., etc., and therefore food prices are higher anyway. Well, you gotta determine how many farmers would have grown food instead and/r whether we even have a shortage of acreage for growing food (we don’t). Either way, it’s really a red herring argument that doesn’t hold up to reasonable scrutiny.
Come on! The corn pedal is the big one on the right! Let’s get moving here!
at what cost in public subsidies?
and how many ‘conventional’ barrels of oil are burned in all the processes to make and transport ethanol?
Funny, there is no mention of nirtous oxide in this poorly written article.
OOPS! I mean NITROUS Oxide.
It is not carcinogenic, but it is water-soluble, which leads to contamination of drinking water supplies. The whole theory behind 'oxygenated' fuels such as ethanol and MTBE is invalid since these fuels already have a lower energy potential due to the already existing carbon-oxygen bond. When the costs of ethanol manufacture and shipping are factored in, burning ethanol actually creates more CO2 than it's gasoline equivalent.
Ah, more agitprop on the awesome wonderfulness of ethanol.
Just as the House (from where the subsidies flow) changes control.
Coincidence? Nah, can’t be.
Sarc/
“It seriously affects my mileage.”
Wait a while and it will do more damage than just to your milage. I had it just about wreck my FI on a 1990 318 Dodge PU. Put some 92/NA and the problem cleared up in a few miles. If my co-op didn’t have the 92/NA gas my chainsaws and brush cutters and small tractor would be dead !!
The out cry must come - NO ALCOHOL IN GASOLINE - EPA IS A JOB KILLING MACHINE !! DEFUND AND DISMANTLE THE EPA !!
We have a place north of me that is called “corn mountain”.
All the storage areas get full so they have to dump it
on the ground,,,
A sight to see,,,
One year a farmer planted about 200 acres of sunflowers
because the price of corn went so low,,,
He made a few bucks,,,
The kids had a blast...
No wonder the package of bacon I looked at was over $16.00
“Zero. The corn used to produce ethanol is not “food” corn — so the thought that the price of our food is impacted by ethanol production is a myth.”
Not true, this corn is used as feed corn. Farmers also replaced food crops with this because they make more money.
So the net is food prices have increased. Perhaps you want to make the argument that food prices have not increased?
Ethanol is a farce.
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