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Originally Posted by dogbreath
Alcohol fuels (ethanol and methanol) can be made from anything, not just corn. One can make ethanol in one's backyard with inexpensive equipment, sugar, water and yeast. Can't say that for gasoline now, can we? It emits less particulate. The US can produce all the fuel it needs internally from many sources; and every country in the world can do the same, thus stopping the monopoly on oil in it's tracks. I use the fuel because I figure every gallon that I use is one less gallon that a soldier, sailor, marine or airman has to risk his/her life to assure the US access to oil. It's an emotional decision, not one based on "fuel economy".
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Emotional discussions do not result in rational legislation
Because we can doesn't mean that we will. I agree with rmay, we need a hands off approach. We might be able to brew our own ethanol from sugar water and yeast - but being able to home brew says nothing about scaling up. Which is why we all can't be driving diesel motors on waste vegetable oil
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And I don't disagree with us importing low cost ethanol from countries that can produce it much cheaper due to their crops and environmental factors. cough brazil
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I completely disagree with importing from Brazil. Brazil already has enough issues with deforestation. Adding the energy hunger of the United States would be adding more fuel to that forest fire :/
It's not that I'm against alcohol based fuels... I am against our current production of such fuels. Currently, less than 2% of biofuel ethanol is produced from products other than corn and our productivity per acre is very low (less than half) compared to the model country (Brazil).
Cellulosic ethanol just isn't ready for commercialization (yet). It's foolish, in the short term (2015), to rely on a technology that hasn't come to fruition yet. I think that's where more focus should be
And just because this thread reminded me... Here's a research paper I read last year with respect to ethanol emissions
Effects of Ethanol (E85) versus Gasoline Vehicles on Cancer and Mortality in the United States - Environmental Science & Technology (ACS Publications)