What is the latest news on ethanol? Was it a just fad or what?

[SOCALS]

In the past few years, here in California, millions of dollars were made on the ethanol hype. There were quite a few ethanol companies started in Central Valley. I wonder if it is still a fashionable thing to produce or did those and other ethanol makers go bankrupt in this recession?

[kenny blankenship]

1. Still potable

which is more than you can say for biodiesel.

[timeforpeace]

19. The science was in. Now it's not. That happens when fad science is used to make public policy.

[Captain Hilts]

2. It's still in east coast gasoline. nt

[SOCALS]

3. Did gas become cheaper because of ethanol?

Better mileage?

[cabluedem]

Worse mileage with ethanol. nt

[Captain Hilts]

8. Dog, no. Ethanol is insanely expensive to produce. nt

[WriteDown]

4. Still as delicious as ever! nt

[NYC_SKP]

5. It could never have competed and wouldn't have even been sold without heavy subsidies.

It was a Bush era "green" project that hopefully is becoming more and more obvious for the mislead project it has been.

I'm all for further research on using switchgrass and organic waste, but using corn was a joke.

The electric car, plug-in hybrids, and vehicle-to-grid are the right path.

[SOCALS]

6. I remember a few years ago,

the former CA Secretary of State sold an ethanol company for millions in profit before this company produced any ethanol. I had a feeling it was all a scam to cheat the public out of some cash

[NYC_SKP]

17. Many or most ag product would die without subsidies and tax breaks.

I have the same suspicions, re tax shelters, about wineries and vineyards.

There was a huge push to buy into these some years ago.

[SoCalDem]

7. and a bon mot to the CORN lobby

whiich only made cereals & bread increase in price..why sell to Kellogg, when you can sell to Shell & get a lot more..

[Captain Hilts]

9. Dwayne Adreas, Bob Dole's buddy. Kansas made out big on this deal. nt

[amborin]

10. wouldn't corn-based ethanol cause a much larger carbon

footprint than anticipated?

i think Brazil uses sugar cane, but also think i read this is only marginally better.....

(i.e. destroy rain forest to clear for sugar cane, etc.)

[NYC_SKP]

16. Well, when we use terrestrial organic matter, we don't add Carbon to the biosphere/atmosphere...

...the way that bringing new carbon from the lithosphere from fossil fuels does.

BUT: we use fossil fuels for growing processing transporting corn, so it ain't the greatest.

[sendero]

11. Ethanol..

.. is a another tragic joke on the American public. You pay the same as gasoline for it, but it doesn't have near the energy value. When you use a 10% ethanol gasoline mixture, your gas mileage goes down about 7%.

It's just another form of economic extortion. It doesn't significantly reduce pollution, you still have to burn almost as much actual gasoline as before. And now they are trying to push it to 15%.

They just won't stop raping the public until we've let them know we've had enough.

[SOCALS]

14. My Goodness

it is even worse than I thought. The more I learn about all these "save the planet" initiatives, the more I think it is all just another marketing campaign to make the public open their wallets and pay for feeling good about themselves and stuff like that. Every decade these capitalists find another way to trick people out of their money

[Oregone]

12. Just an opportunity to dole out federal subsidies to corporate farms

Most people have caught on

[NMMNG]

13. It sounds great but it's actually not

We need to find better options.

Biofuels Are Bad for Feeding People and Combating Climate Change

Siphoning Off Corn to Fuel Our Cars

[Brother Buzz]

15. I hope not. My dream flying car runs on ethanol

The Moller M400 Skycar is in fact a flying car and it is the first vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) vehicle in the world. It is much faster than a light aircraft and can achieve speeds up to 375 mph, and can reach this speed while achieving 20 miles per gallon on ethanol fuel and a range of 750 miles.

[Canuckistanian]

18. What's the difference between corn liquor and ethanol, anyways?

Do we really need massive centralized plants to produce ethanol when it can be produced and consumed locally?

That way, priorities can be easily assessed - food vs. fuel.

[StarfarerBill]

20. Still being sold extensively in Iowa, as far as I know (I lived there till May).

It being a corn-producing state and all.

It's also sold here in East Tennessee, but not very extensively I think.