The result of producing ethanol from corn is food AND fuel.

But corn is not the only source of ethanol. There is sugar cane and sugar beets—both of which grow well in the US. There is sorghum grain—or any type of grain.

In fact, any type of plant material at all. Even wood. In WW2, the US produced butadeine, artificial rubber, using ethanol made from wood logging and milling waste from a plant in Wisconsin. Ethanol kicked Hitler and Tojo’s butts. Without ethanol made from wood—we never would have been able to produce the ships, planes, tanks, trucks, jeeps and so on that did the job.

We can even make ethanol from desert plants—agave cactus—a very highly productive source of ethanol. It has been done in Mexico for hundreds of years. It is called tequila.

Ethanol is cleaner, safer, and produces almost no emissions when compared to oil. Why do you think oil companies have spent so many years and billions of dollars trying to keep ethanol off the market?

Electric cars are subsidized, ethanol is subsidized, computers and the internet were subsidized, automobiles subsidized, roads, wastewater, housing, police, hydro-electric dams, the space shuttle, k-12 schools (both private and public), weapons development….

Ethanol is a good model if not for one simple factor, we do not need to build an infrastructure. Just add more pumps at preexisting fueling stations. We can grow crop in the heartland, we can harvest in the desert.

Additionally, If you’re lucky enough to have yard space, you can grow potatoes, etc. Or use your compost/kitchen vegetable scraps.

Tthe individual can produce their own fuel on a weekly basis. They do not need a capital intensive purchase –ie a new electric car. They can use any piece of crap car they can procure. So for the poorest members of society, we can offer a simple solution that don’t require a banker’s signature. And cooperatives would ideally be best for those less inclined to distill, but capable of paying into the communal pot for production cost….

Apart from that, in the desert, where someone wants to put 100 square miles of solar panels, we could just plant mesquite where it once stood. Mesquite will produce per acre as much or more ethanol than corn. Plus, you can grow pimelon and prickly pear as understory to the Mesquite, adding more fuel to the total. ALL without introducing fertilizer or GMO crop, or irrigation.

That’s a reality far too many folks are just not willing to entertain. they want their Star Trek futurism, when we have simple technology that can be implemented NOW.

In Brazil there are 10 million Flexfuel vehicles, looks like Ethanol is the fastest source of auto fuels with 18 million + flexfuel vehicles worldwide.

Dan M,
You left out one very important point in your argument, in that corn is heavily subsidized by itself. So while it is true that petro should cost more becasue of hidden costs, corn has hidden costs in the form of massive taxpayer subsidies. Also, you can add the hidden costs of producing more CO2 and the amounts of raw energy needed to complete the process.

How do you explain when we have droughts or floods the price variations that result from this? Also, your idea about mixing of E– blends is troubling. On one-hand by doing this, you allow for greater competition and you get the lowest price passed on to the consumer (assuming you don’t create trade tariffs or increase U.S. subsidies). BUT at the same time you give up the idea of more domestic energy becasue you import more ethanol from places like Brazil and this also means you have very little control over land problems, deforestation or geopolitical problems.

Many economic papers that have been done on this subject point to cellulose ethanol as the clear choice compared to corn but by no means does any reasonably educated energy expert say that ethanol can replace a majority of our domestic fueling needs. Also, expanding cellulose ethanol to viable rates means you need to open up much of the farmland that is preserved through voluntary conservation land programs.

The most alarming problem with ethanol is, how does it encourage market innovation for fuel efficiency technology or independent fueling?
Example..
I drove past many on the interstate who were in town to see Sarah Palin when the election was happening. I seen the E85 guy with bumper stickers all over his giant SUV telling people how great ethanol is. This brought me back to the Bush Jr. years, when you seen the most energy inefficient vehicles with ethanol stickers on them. So the point is what good does replacing a Hummer with fuel-flex do, when you get around the same 8-12mpg as petro? And market innovations by most accounts will do nothing to make the fuel efficiency much greater, unlike the market incentives for improving battery capacity and in renewable energy capturing (ie solar, wave, wind, ect…) in electric vehicles.

With solar electricity, it’s under 10,000 square miles – or a patch of desert 100 miles by 100 miles for the US or a very small fraction of the uninhabitable Sahara desert of Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, etc.

This is a big lie. A vehicle will run off of E85 with these minimal mods (actually just a $5 fuel sensor in most cases), however, the entire fuel system will generally rust out or disolve with repeated use of E85. The car companies count on few people really actually using E85 and assume that in the miniscule case that they actually do, they’ll put in expensive, ethanol resistant plumbing under warranty.
It’s actually just another auto industry scam on ignorant politicians.

No one ever said anything about replacing all petro with ethanol..utter nonsense .. But we coulkd if we wanted if you would bother to read thre facts instead of the propaganda.. once again in the US Corn Ethanol is regulated ..we can only produced 15 Billion Gallons of Corn ethnaol..we already produce 12.5 gallons .. ..

IS there some part of the National Energy and Security Act renewable Fuels schedule that you dont understand ?

The idea that corn ethanol is making starve is ridiculous.. do the Math.. It’s very simple .. corn is $3.60 a bushel..6 CENTS a Pound ..what part of that don’t you understand.. ^ cents a Pound anyone with any common sense understands the cost of food has has very little to do with the grain and everything to do with transportation, storage , processing , packaging , wages, profits..the actual ingredient is at the bottom of the list..

That’s simplly a fact.

Are you aware the Food Vs Fuel debate ..never was a debate but rather a PAID for Orchestrated propaganda paid for by the GMA ?

As far as MPG.. yes you get less mpg on in a standard Flex Fuel Vehicle..(as long as E85 is priced right ..makes no difference though).. but that is changing ..The 2011 Buick Regal will get roughly the same MPG unleaded or E85

The is no astronomical costs ..again utter nonsense.. The Auto Industry wasn’t going to start optimizing vehicles for E85 when they mostly ran on Unleaded..but now that is starting to change they will start introducing more cars like the 2011 Regal that is more optimized to run on higher blends of ethanol..

In the meantime that is why we push for Retails to maintain at least a 15% price spread between E85 and Unleaded..the National Average is 24% .. E85Prices.com

I am for ALL forms of fueling options for the consumer..Gasoline, Ethanol , Electrics Hydrogen etc.. diversity is th ekey

Oil has had a Monopoly for a 100 years ..Ethanol is the only alternative that can take large Market-share from Oil because the vehicles are essentially the same

A Million jobs in the Ethanol Industry now..American made Jobs ..local communities..