Ethanol has been touted as a cure for some of the energy and pollution problems faced by humanity the
world over. Is it really? Just what are the facts?
Ethanol is an alcohol obtained by processing sugars
taken from crops. Fields must be plowed, seed sown, fields cultivated, weeded and protected from insects. Then
comes the harvest, shipping, processing, manufacture and distribution to sellers. This all takes energy!
On average it takes one and one half gallons of petroleum fuel to produce one gallon of ethanol!
Fact: If
the energy taken to produce the ethanol is added into the calculation of the energy contained within the ethanol the end result
is; The burning of ethanol as fuel is almost 1 1/2 times less efficient than the burning of the petroleum product in
the first place. It takes 131,100 BTU's to produce 77,000 BTU's. Prof David Pimental Cornel U.
Natural Resources Research, Vol 14, No 1 Mar 05, pages 65-76 . It takes 29% more energy to produce ethanol
from corn than the total energy contained in the ethanol produced. This varies with the type of crop, but corn is at
the better end of the scale.
Fact: The pollutants produced by burning petroleum to produce ethanol, plus the pollutants
produced by the burning of ethanol, amount to producing nearly twice the pollutants that would have been produced by just
burning petroleum in the first place!
Fact: There are various problems involved in burning ethanol as fuel
which often result in a measurable DECREASE in mileage per gallon of fuel. Sometimes as much as 40%. This decrease
in efficiency alone, means an INCREASE in fuel consumption and pollution! One example is that ethanol binds with
moisture, this prevents carburators from producing a spray of fuel fine enough to be efficiently burned. This moisture
problem also leads to internal engine corrosion. If you experience problems due to government mandated ethanol in fuel,
do what you can concerning your carburator.
Fact: With the incentive of cash and government subsidies,
large acreages are being converted into producing feed stock to produce ethanol. As a result, prices for wheat and other
grains are rapidly increasing due to shortages. As prices increase due to these shortages, basic foods will be beyond
the reach of millions maybe billions. This will produce starvation and the resulting upheavals, death and destruction.
For information on the current state of world grain stocks see.
http://www.counterpunch.org/dawson12202007.html Fact: While ethanol is presented as a boon for the environment, large areas of previously
untilled land will be put into production. Grasslands will be tilled and forests cut down to ease food shortages or
to take advantage of high prices and incentives. This will be a disaster for the environment. If research slows
on a petroleum substitute due to a misguided reliance on ethanol, that will be yet another disaster.
Conclusion:
The use of ethanol will not solve either pollution problems or energy shortages. In fact it will be an environmental
disaster and a human disaster, bordering on genocide. These facts are obvious to any observer. Why are we being
conditioned to overlook them? Is the push to ethanol really just another example of governmental stupidity, or are the
farming and energy lobbies working for their own selfish ends?
