4/30/08 - Kick the Cheetos and the Cocktails:
What I have been reading and hearing over and over is that people are starving and bio fuels contribute to a large part of this issue. Bio fuels consume 4% of the worlds grain supply, there has always been a global food shortage and that food shortage has been enhanced for numerous reasons. Not only is a shortage of food the issue but the cost of transporting and packaging the food. The worlds food supply is a complex issue and Bio Fuels are not the culprit.  Actually bio fuels are keeping the cost of oil down which is offsetting some of the rising cost of transporting and packaging of food. If the people that so feverishly tout the demise of bio fuels would also protest Cheetos and evening cocktails maybe the world would get somewhere. Lets take a portion of record breaking oil company profits to pay for the fuel to transport the food to starving people across the globe (desperate times, desperate measures). I might be wrong but aren’t the record profits that the oil companies are making contributing to world hunger as well?

Corn ethanol and soybeans bio diesel are just starting points and the bio fuel industry needs time to flourish.  To squash the progress now would be an immeasurable disaster. Hybrid technology has promise but it is not an alternative fuel. Hybrids are just vehicles with better gas millage that helps the environment. Plug ins are hopeful but lets not forget the rolling blackouts every summer and that for the most part electricity is still generated from coal. More safe reliable nuclear power is needed before we start plugging in cars.

Maybe I just don’t understand the complexity of the commodities market but I feel some type of conspiracy theory coming on. Even when I take into account that the Dollar is shrinking against the Euro, There is a Mid East war and an administration that is simply a disaster (I didn’t vote for them). Should the price of oil really be climbing so quickly? What is the real truth? What is really going on. I read over and over that a ship was hijacked or shot at so oil futures rise, it looks like a busy driving season so oil futures rise, rough weather in the gulf so oil futures rise etc. etc. These issues have always plagued us yet oil has never increased so quickly or by so much. I would like to know who exactly is buying these futures driving up the price and how much are they buying? There is something fundamentally wrong with the system. When we hit $100 a barrel it was because some jerk wanted to be the first to to buy oil at $100 a barrel he was willing buy up futures and to take a loss. Who is to say that the enemies of this country aren’t doing just that. What a better way to attack America but in the wallet.  I want to know who is buying the oil futures, how much they are buying, selling and for what prices. I don’t want corporate names I want real names of CEO's and individuals. I bet keeping track of this on a public website would help bring the price down. I think a central web based public database might have kept the jerk from the $100 barrel fiasco in the first place.  

As a country we are behind and it hurts. We should have developed alternative sources of fuel decades ago. We shouldn’t have all purchased SUV’s bigger than our garage.  Instead of a war we should have invested those billions into the education of our youth to cultivate the minds that can build the solutions for tomorrow.  The bottom line is that we didn’t. Instead we are now patching the holes the best we can until  the solutions arrive. The current bio fuels and the distribution of those fuels are a part of that patch.  Without bio fuels we would sink further.  No one wants anyone to starve or cause additional hardship to our worldly neighbors. The problem is If we don’t put ourselves first we will never be able to give anyone else the help they truly deserve.   Until we kick the foreign oil we are hostages to rogue nations, future traders and OPEC. If we are hostages how can we truly help anyone else. We must detox from foreign oil, it is the only way we will truly be free.

4/18/08 Sometimes I just don't get it -
I continue to hear how bio fuels are the catalyst for world hunger. The cause of rising food prices and so on. Groceries are rising and we all feel it. The issue is much more complex than blaming a 4% diversion of the worlds grain into fuel. With the escalation of oil and the failing economy the economics of food would be much worse without ethanol. Without ethanol our oil reserves would be lower and the future traders would take advantage driving oil higher and higher. On 4/14 checking out Yahoo news I read two articles which really sums it all up. There was a decent article How Hunger Could Topple Regimes  and just below this article was Uruguay sizzles up one big barbecue. which reported that Uruguay barbequed 26,400 pounds of beef beating a 2006 Mexico Guinness record.  In the article it quotes Danny Girton of Guinness as saying "It's all so beautiful. It's a record". I think these two articles coming out on the same day really sums up the issues and it is not ethanol.  

On a positive note an article was released in the St. Petersburg times Central Florida Pipeline to carry first ethanol flow. This will be the first test in moving ethanol using a pipeline. This is an issue that anti bio fuel supporters continued to tell us over and over couldn't be done due to the corrosive nature of the fuel. This argument was used as a focal point of the anti ethanol movement for some time.  Hopefully we will be able to put this issue to rest once and for all.

3/31/08 Heading in the right direction -
I read a couple of articles this week that were great and show we could be heading in the right direction. The News Gazette in Champaign Il featured an article Class to use cooking oil to make biodiesel  about a group of high school students being taught how to make bio diesel. I think that is really something we should have been doing a long time ago. Canadian Driver just featured a story Texas GM dealership opens E85 fuel station . Classic Chevrolet in Grapevine TX has spent a half million dollars to open a Bio Diesel, E10 and E85 station with ten pumps for their customers.  If I lived in the Dallas area in Texas this dealership would have just won my business. One article that really bothered  me was featured in the Houston Chronicle Shell, Virent form joint venture to convert crops to biogasoline. The article explains that Shell and Virent will attempt to make a fuel like gas using the sugar from plants. Instead of fermenting it into ethanol they will create hydrocarbon molecules like an oil refinary. I am all for what works but have to ask myself where has this technology been, why hasn't Shell been working on this earlier and what are their true motives. I get the same eerie feeling from big oil that I did from big tobacco.        

3/24/08 Food on the rise -
I read a great article today on yahoo news Food prices soaring worldwide by Katherine Corcoran of the associated press. The article does a great job touching base on issues dealing with food shortages and rising food prices without blaming ethanol.

3/23/08 Check the facts -
I caught a small but great article today Ethanol myths abound, but check the facts  in the Rochester Post Bulletin by Randall J Doyle. The article points out that the anti ethanol sentiment is based on falsehoods. Doyle points out that it takes 10% less water for ethanol than crude and it takes much more water for the steel, plastic and tires on each vehicle. Doyle also points out that the claims of ethanol not being efficient is outdated and the energy output is now 3 to 1 and increasing. The article also touches base on the claims of a wheat shortage blamed on farmers turning wheat fields to corn and the rising cost of grain. The article notes that farmers planted more wheat last year than they have in many years and the rise in cost is a result of many factors not ethanol production.    

3/21/08 Do people really realize what ethanol is? -
I had started a list of non fuel products that I use which contain ethanol in the forum. I added the 67 0z Members Mark hand sanitizer which contains 62% Ethyl Alcohol  that sits on my desk. Then it hits me, how many anti ethanol folks realize that ethyl alcohol is ethanol? If you believe the use of ethanol causes world hunger, pollution, additional environmental and economic woes, then put the cocktail down and wake up. You may not be putting it in your gas tank but I am sure you use your share of ethanol. It is easy to pick on ethanol as a fuel but what about all those other products that use ethanol. In my opinnion if you protest the use of ethanol as a stepping stone to oil independence but turn around and use it to sanitize your hands or catch a buzz, you are a hypocrite. Matter of fact maybe we should consider prohibition again. I mean just think how much we could ease world hunger, lower the price of corn and reduce ethanol production and transport pollution if the country just gave up the booze.        

3/17/08 Immigration policy not ethanol -
I read a great article today Economic analysis: Ethanol policy is driving up food costs by Robert Pore featured in the Grand Island Nebraska's Independent. The article examines the cause and effect related to rising food prices. One Ph D Tom Elam claimed his analysis shows that ethanol has raised the price of corn 1.33 bushels but Dr. Elam also has ties to the American Meat Institute so he does represent a special interest. He even broke down the increased cost per animal at .53 per chicken, $3.40 per Turkey,  $38 per hog, $117.50 per beef animal (this guys got a lot of time on his hands). Considering the current economic state, record fuel cost and factoring that these increases are for the whole animal the price of pork and beef seems very reasonable. The chicken and turkey seems high but these animals can eat other things than corn (I don't like chicken or turkey anyways). How a chicken is .53 cents and a whole pig is only $38 or a whole steer is $117 I have to think factors than corn is involved. Not to mention someone should let Dr Elam know that Food costs at the wholesale level actually fell by 0.5 percent in Feb 08 as the cost of vegetables, fruit, dairy products and pork all declined.

Now that we have Dr Elam out of the way the article does a great job at examining the other side of the issue.  The American Farm Bureau raises the issue of higher oil prices. The article touches base on a Federal Reserve report that admits corn does play a role in higher food cost but points out that a rise in marketing costs, labor cost and energy cost all play vital roles. The article also points out that according to the USDA that farmers receive 19 cents from each dollar of wheat flour,  5 cents from each dollar of bread and 4 cents from each dollar spent on a  box of corn flakes. In the article Teri France a senior economist from the American Farm Bureau points out that far too often ethanol and corn are blamed for rising food cost and the entire situations is much more complex.

It is good to see an intelligent article for a change in relation to the actual contributing factors related to rising food cost. Hopefully it will help someone to realize that rising food costs are effected by everything not just ethanol. The price of food is rising from things people don't consider such as immigration policy, dollar value, healthcare cost and so on. Think about it healthcare goes up and Purdue has to pay more for their employee's benefits to compensate they charge more for a chicken, so does the trucking company and the grocery store. The employee also has to contribute more for their benefits now they have less money, buy less chicken as a result sales are down so Purdue and the grocery store has to raise prices even more. The government cracks down on people being in the country illegally, farmers have to pay more for farm help and provide benefits.  The economy has a giant ripple effect and everything is connected in one way or another.  The current rising cost of food is more effected by the timing of current events than anything else. There are far to many half baked media pumped fear stories related to these issues. These half baked stories keep Americans from realizing the truth and heading in the right direction as is the case for alternative fuels.

I read an article over the weekend that was so dumb I had to think an oil company had planted it. It was in the L.A. times and the Fort Worth Star essentially telling people that the price of popcorn would have a modest increase because farmers are replacing popcorn with corn for ethanol. That the theaters would have to make up the difference in the price of tickets because the sale of popcorn helps keep tickets prices lower and so on. The article is so stupid I wouldn't give it  the satisfaction of a link. The bad part is somebody is going to read it and turn away from bio fuels because they believe their popcorn is going to increase in price.  The ironic part of the whole biofuel issue is for once the government is on track (excluding the tariff situation). The problem is special interest and the media.

3/15/08 Exxon Mobil and hybrid batteries
A couple of articles came out this week highlighting the fact that Exxon Mobil is getting into the hybrid battery business. Exxon has been helping to develop battery technology for many years and the hybrid car battery technology may just seem like the next step. According to the articles Exxon is working on enhancing the lithium battery to replace the nickel batteries that are being used today. Exxon Mobil then wants to sell the technology to car manufacturers. Many companies are in a race to develop the ultimate battery for hybrids but Exxon Mobil is the world's wealthiest company and their primary product is oil. Right now none of the mass produced hybrids are flex fuel. Although some major auto manufactures have made  promises that a few bio fuel hybrid's are in the works. The real reality is that hybrids will be fueled primarily on gas for a long time to come.  The business practices of Exxon Mobil  have been questioned several times in the past and the move to develop lithium batteries for hybrid vehicles should immediately raise issues of ethical business practices. It gives me flash backs of the browser wars but on a grander scale. Exxon Mobil taking on the role of Microsoft while Verasun and other bio fuel companies assume the role of Netscape. We all know how the browser wars turned out.  There is one small consolation and that is that the current energy bill requires 36 billion gallons of bio fuel by 2022. The negative is that there is a huge out pouring of emmotion against the energy bill  and the Exxon Mobil can certainly afford an army of lobbyist to get the bill changed.
  
3/12/08 This weeks fear story -
This weeks story of fear will be a feature promoted by the environmental sites stating that corn ethanol will create a larger dead zone in the gulf of Mexico. It was just posted as Corn-Ethanol Crops Will Widen Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone on the Environment News Service & Ethanol production will exacerbate Gulf of Mexico "dead zone" on Energy Current. The information is based on a study by two Universities that ran models from the University of British Columbia and the University of Wisconsin. The study reports that Nitrogen & Phosphorus from fertilizer used on the corn crops will run down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico enhance algae growth. The algae then consumes the oxygen creating a dead zone. Their calculations is that the dead zone pneumonia that already exists would increase by 10-19% if the required 36 billion gallons of bio fuel by 2022 is still required by law as the current energy bill requires.

My guess is that over the next 24-48 hours major news organizations will pick up the story. Once that happens the average American will buy into the story and add it into the anti ethanol equation further expanding their negative image of bio fuels. First lets take into account this is a model by two universities and not a panel of independent scientists. The theory is based on an issue that already exist and is caused by farming not ethanol or  ethanol production. According to the bill 21 billion gallons of the 36 billion of bio fuels due by 2022 is not allowed to be corn ethanol. Then if you are one of the folks that believe the world will starve if we continue to convert food to bio fuels. Then you should also agree that these crops calculated in the model would have to exist regardless of what they are used for. Henceforth the dead zone would continue to grow ethanol or no ethanol. The real problem is that an environmental crisis exist and somebody needs to do something and no one has. The reason nothing has been done about the gulf dead zone is because there has been no awareness or pouring of outrage. This is because the general public is not aware or they don't care about the situtation. Now the issue is brought to the fore front and turned into fear using ethanol as the culprit. The fear then motivates people to become involved while enhancing their distrust in bio fuels.  Even people that are pro bio fuel are now discussing the dead zone to defend ethanol. That is what I just did in my blog today. I guess that is why studies and journalism of doom work and positive experiments and articles about progress doesn't.       

3/9/08 Are they hypocrites -
Wow I had an eye opener this morning. We have a 1lb 3oz can of Lysol disinfectant spray. I was reading the ingredients and the main active ingredient is 58% ethanol.  I have never even thought about ethanol being in other products. Now my mind starts turning. What other products contain ethanol? Are these products made from corn ethanol? Do the foreign ethanol tariffs apply to ethanol for other uses than fuel?

Then I start searching for a list of products that contain ethanol. I couldn't find one.  I did find info stating ethanol was used in hand sanitizer and a host of cleaning supplies. I even read one note that said it was used in bread as a preservative. What I do know is that it is in the Lysol spray we have. I could be wrong but I assume the Lysol that is manufactured in the U.S. is made from corn ethanol. To me this means anyone who claims that the world is starving because we are using ethanol is probably hypocrite. The claims these people make can't be limited to how much or what products the ethanol is being used in. The fact is these same people that are against ethanol for fuel are using ethanol to disinfect their hands and houses. If you find a product with ethanol listed as an ingredient please post it on the message board. If you know the actual source of the ethanol in these products please post it. I really would like to start a public list of products because to me it doesn't matter how much or in what form a person uses ethanol. You either use it or you don't. If you use a product with ethanol and preach doom to the rest of us then it is just as much your fault.

3/3/08 Fear sales - Wow all I can read about is that no one is equipped with the foam to put out ethanol fires. I actually have multiple responses for this one but what about ethanol raising the ecoli risk in the U.S? I guess that one has fell by the wayside with all the other media pumped fiction fear stories related to ethanol that come out weekly. How about the article last week that plug in hybrids would cause more pollution than gas. Oh yea the rise in food prices continues on and on, I had no idea our entire society was based on corn. The farmers should have all been billionaires living in mansions decades ago. I guess diesel being at an all time high isn't as important in the rising price of food as ethanol. Let me get back on track with the ill equipped fire suppressant issue. The old saying comes to mind if you throw enough SH*T at the wall something will stick, the anti ethanol people are working overtime to make that happen. The problem is I'm no longer buying into any of it. Week after week month after month the media has pumped these doomsday stories with no real facts. This goes way back to crock about the tortilla shortage. Most of the time the time the issue is based on some crazy so called old expert with a biased study. I hardly think that no one in the country had discussed fire suppression. I don't think that the railroads, trucking companies, gas stations, and ethanol plants would just blindly haul a chemical  without the means to extinguish it.

Now if I am wrong and these companies said what the hell let's risk being sued and haul this stuff. Then IMHO I want the fire fighters all to have whatever they need to put out any kind of fire anyways. Especially ethanol fires since the media was so kind to let every terrorist and crazy person in the world know that they believe we don't have adequate protection for these potential type of disasters (way to go media). I also want to add that if the fire departments across the nation must stock up on a new expensive chemical. Lets use those tax dollars to purchase it from a U.S. company. That way ethanol can help create even more jobs and strengthen our economy even further.   

2/26/08 Helping to keep the economy rolling - A great article on AgWeb Ethanol Indicative of Potential of Green Economy points out that the RFA (Renewable Fuels Association) is highlighting a new economic report that was just released pointing out the following facts:
    
U.S. ethanol production helped support the creation of 238,541 new jobs, more than 46,000 of which coming in the manufacturing sector;
U.S. ethanol production increased the Gross Domestic Product by $47.6 billion;
U.S. ethanol production increased household incomes by $12.3 billion;
U.S. ethanol production generated $8.2 billion in new tax revenue for federal, state and local governments; and,
U.S. production and use of 6.5 billion gallons of ethanol in 2007 displaced the need for 228.2 million barrels of imported oil and an estimated value of $16.5 billion.

Each one of us who use ethanol helped to make each one of those statistics happen.

2/20/08 Just Another Lie - I have heard over and over Ethanol is to corrosive to be sent in a pipeline across the country. I kept thinking something didn't seem right with that statement but I am no engineer. I figured we probably had some type of corrosive resistant piping in the works. Then I read a Rueters article this morning Magellan, Buckeye study U.S. ethanol pipeline. A pair of oil pipeline companies Magellan Midstream and Buckeye Partners are teaming up to do an assessment to build the first ethanol pipeline. It appears that a huge issue and stumbling block has been property right of ways for a pipeline. The article does point out that experts believe (the key word believe) ethanol may (keyword may) corrode pipelines because it absorbs water (not because of it's corrosive nature). Both companies are working with the DOT and pipeline industry doing actual testing (not speculation) to what kind of stress ethanol has on a pipeline. The news release on the Magellan website says the studies should be completed by the end of 2008 and due to the cost of the pipeline government help would be needed. Hopefully the study will show that ethanol can be safely transported via pipeline. My assumption is that it must be favorable and the companies believe it is possible, stay tuned. This just shows once again that the anti ethanol coalition creates negative rumors without proper studies by actual day to day experts in those fields. In turn the general public buys into those rumors. It gives me this sort of big tobacco deja vu feeling for some reason. Magellan Website - Buckeye Partners Website

2/19/08 Jonathon Goodwin - I finally ran across an article about someone who actually get's it.  Weaning America Off of Oil: The 'Motorhead Messiah' Has Arrived. The story is about Jonathon Goodwin who experiments with vehicles to raise fuel economy, help the environment and  find alternative ways to power those vehicles. Mr. Goodwin like the rest of us feels we must have alternate fuel sources instead of relying on foreign oil. His primary focus at the moment is on diesel. The thing is Mr. Goodwin points out that multiple alternative fuel sources are needed. He actually envisions an electric hybrids that run in 'dual fuel' mode, burning biodiesel along with hydrogen, ethanol, natural gas, or propane. I have to say it is so refreshing to read about someone with a positive insight. I am so tired of the ethanol bashers with no alternatives or the people who believe their alternative fuel source is the only way and any other will destroy the world. Mr. Goodwin has some great ideas and the positive momentum this country needs. This is a great article.

2/14/08 Thanks Charles - Charles from West Virginia wrote:
Thank you for taking the time to produce such a great E85 web site. The country needs more people like you, to spread the word about ethanol.
I too am a great fan of E85. You do not need to reply to this email. I just wanted to encourage you to keep up the good work, that is all.

Charles thanks for the good words. I am used to ethanol hate mail but not compliments.

2/13/08 It is 4% - I read an awesome short article on CNET by Michael Kanellos entitled Don't blame high food prices completely on ethanol  The article explains that the demand for ethanol grain demand went from 54 million tons in 2006 to 81 million tons in 2007 an increase of 27 million tons. In the entire scope of things ethanol only represents 4 percent of  worldwide grain consumption.  In 2006 the world produced 1.992 billion tons of grain although consumption was 2.043 billion tons and in 2007 production rose to 2.075 billion tons although consumption went to 2.098 billion tons. A major factor attributing to crop price increase is due to an imbalance of supply and demand. The world is consuming more food and the imbalance has been enhanced by crop failures in the Ukraine and Midwest. Also keep in mind that the 81 million tons used for ethanol does not take into account distillers grain which is a by product of the ethanol process. The distillers grain is cheaper than corn and  fed to cattle which in reality absorbs a portion of that 4%. by freeing up grain that would be used for feed.

The bottom line is the world was already in trouble. If a 4% reduction in the world grain supply is going to create mass famine as predicted by the naysayers then ethanol is hardly the issue. The truth is that the world is over populated and instead of telling the real truth alternative fuels become the scapegoat. Although a positive can be created from the entire situation. If we continue working to enhance, develop and improve distribution and sources for alternative fuels i.e. cellulose ethanol, waste to bio diesel.  If we can get the current administration to drop the tariffs and start importing sugar and other possible sources of non grain based ethanol. We could convert some of that corn to reduce imbalance of supply and demand. A lot of farmland that wouldn't have been planted without a demand for ethanol. The bottom line is that the problem is not ethanol or even corn based ethanol. The problem is that ethanol is a scapegoat and it is always easy to blame U.S. policy.  If the situation is so dire that progress needs to be halted because 4% of the worlds grain (which comes with a distillers grain rebate) is going to cause mass famine. Then we need to look into a world wide moratorium that each family can only have one child and one car.    

Just as an FYI John Deere announced today that the first quarter earnings are up 55% with a record first quarter earning of $369 million. Although the record profits are not entirely due to ethanol it is a contributing factor and it is good to see an American company doing well in these days.     

2/12/08 The Great Ethanol Famine - Today I read an article Ethanol craze adds to hunger pangs of world's poor it made me so angry here is my reply:
In 1996 corn reached a record of $3.55 per bushel. Recently corn has reached $3.40 a bushel but not exceeded the 1996 record price. It is believed it will. But where was the starving world hype in 1996? The technology does not exist to transport ethanol by pipeline but the vehicles that haul the ethanol can run on bio diesel. Currently bio diesel is being made out of soybean which is also contributing factor to the rising food cost. Although bi diesel can be made out of waste. Fertilizer price is on the rise, oil has doubled in price since the Bush administration. This raises another issue, getting the food to these starving people and U.S. market now cost twice as much. Ethanol and bio diesel are stepping stones to help find a way to a new fuel and fuel delivery system for the future. To put a little more money back into the American economy when it is needed most instead of countries without equal rights, without freedom of speech or religion. To send less money to dictators who worship Castro. As long as we continue to stay slaves to OPEC and oil rich nations we are not free. The problem is that an alternative fuel solution should have been in the mainstream decades ago.

Distillers grain is left over from the ethanol making process which is used as feed for cattle. distillers grain is cheaper than corn. Perhaps this is why some items are more expenses but I have never seen beef prices cheaper in my area $3.99 lb for ribeye off and on for the last year. As for subsidies to the farmer there have always been subsidies. Regardless this money goes back into the U.S. economy (have we all forgot farm aid?) along with a large portion of the funds associated with the ethanol industries from the worker at the plant to the farm equipment the farmer buys. The true tragedy is the tariffs. Other countries can supply more efficient ethanol lessoning the use of corn but the current administration will not let that happen.

Great strides are being made towards the future. Cellulose ethanol may actually but not if we stop now. Japan is using abandon farm land to grow uneatable rice that can make powerful ethanol. Sweden is using illegal confiscated alcohol to create ethanol and the list goes on and on. As usual it is the policies in this country that is the problem not the product. As usual the media likes to points out fear and speculation not solutions or positive facts. If I understood your article we should just give up, the farmers should once again over produce so we can feed the oil futures, support undesirable nations and their policies while watching oil companies continue to break their own profit records. Rather than crawl, walk and run as we find, develop and hone new technologies.

Just as an FYI I drive a large 07 Grand Marquis. I use E85 exclusively, I get 13 MPG dead on (the same MPG as my last vehicle an Explorer on gas). Based on the averages from fueleconomy.gov my Marquis on E85 uses 1 barrel of oil every 2418 miles.

2/7/08 Two Barrels Down -Today I went over the 2418 mile mark which saved me just a little over two barrels of oil over the last seven months. My highway on ramp is closed for a year so I am now doing 13 miles round trip to work rather than 6 miles. Which means I will be doing double my normal miles and reaching those barrels of oil quicker over the next year. Saving two barrels of oil (82 gallons of oil, 39 gallons of gas) doesn't seem like a lot and may not make a difference to the world but it makes a difference to me. 

1/29/08  Rumors, Rumors, Rumors -
I haven’t made an E85 blog entry in a while. I think the nation is in a hold your breath and hope approach. I am amazed that the first pro ethanol video I put up on Youtube and various places has well over 200 combined views and only two negative responses. Both of those folks clearly had no idea what they were talking about. In addition to my Flex Fuel vehicle I like Hybrids, Bio Diesel and the idea of a Plug In Hybrids. Hopefully our second car during the next trade in will be some sort of hybrid variation. Right now Ethanol remains very important to me. The United States has to cut the use of foreign oil and start to build an infrastructure to allow alternative fuel sources. 

Ethanol has a lot of issues with fresh mudslinging daily. Even with the issues Flex Fuel vehicles use less oil than Hybrids. Less oil is the key. We just have to get through the round after round of negativity and put it all together. The ethanol process is a double edged sword that we just have to deal with for us to become a safer and more independent nation. Every pro has a con, every con a pro. Take for instance the rising price of corn. This is due in part to Ethanol but other factors are involved such as the rise in oil. The price of corn that has risen due to ethanol is money going back into our economy. Any money going back into the U.S. economy is a huge plus right now during the lending crisis and a looming recession. Keep in mind distiller’s grain left over from the ethanol process is being sold to cattle farms. Even though we see a rise in poultry and pork prices, from a consumer standpoint I’ve never seen beef prices lower. The recent drop in beef prices is because distiller’s grain is much cheaper than corn.

The pro and con list moves on and on. A lot of negativity has been focused on the pollution the ethanol plants produce. Unlike an oil refinery ethanol plants are new and can be built to strict environmental standards. One plant had been designed to use the methane from onsite cattle being fed distillers grain to power the plant. Unfortunately it was underfunded and over ambitious and went bankrupt right away. Technologies in eco friendly refineries exist for ethanol and not for old oil refineries. It just takes time and development. Although cellulose ethanol is promising it is far away from market and so are plug in hybrids. Although right now ethanol imports are waiting. Importing ethanol would help a great deal as the delivery infrastructure is created and cellulose ethanol is being developed. Our government needs to level the playing field and allow our allies to import ethanol without an economic disadvantage. Another huge issue is a delivery system. We continue to hear ethanol is corrosive and pipelines are not an immediate option. So a lot of negativity has been placed on ethanol because it has to be transported by rail and truck creating more pollution and using more oil. In reality it doesn’t matter whether the alternative fuel is corrosive or not. We can’t put anything but oil in oil pipelines so this is just another mute point. On the plus side while building an infrastructure for ethanol we are also building an infrastructure to support other alternate fuels such as bio diesel which can power the trucks that deliver the ethanol. Oil pipelines and refineries are vulnerable to potential security issues and natural disasters, alternative fuels and alternative fuel delivery systems in the U.S. are needed as a backup for national security and disaster recovery. This is something we have always needed as a nation and ethanol is helping to create a starting point.

There are no simple solutions. Week after week I see new speculations and issues with ethanol. This week I see that it takes too much water to make ethanol, last week I read where a study is being conducted to see if a correlation in the rise of e coli has any connection with distiller’s grain. Six months ago the world was going to starve giving up farmland to renewable fuel sources. These are serious issues to look at but they are issues that can be resolved over time. Other developing technologies have issues as well. Hybrids batteries are expensive non eco friendly and what happens when the vehicle is four five years old? Will the battery still be good? Hybrids have a fuse for safety but the rear battery still has enough juice to kill a man and it is difficult to tell when the vehicle is running. During accidents these issues are serious concerns for rescue workers. Plug in hybrids are around the corner and they sound great but that juice to recharge the batteries has got to come from somewhere. As a nation we are not ready to truly utilize wind and solar power so in reality they will be powered by fossil or nuclear fuels. Neither is a winner especially if you are truly concerned about the environment or live near the train that hauls the spent fuel rods. Hybrid fuel savings happens primarily during city driving and to maximize the true potential you must minimize acceleration. With the larger hybrids the mileage is not that awe inspiring. Simply put the Hybrid is primarily a green vehicle not a foreign oil alternative. Ethanol vehicles use less oil. I do think Hybrid technology is great but there are pros and cons to everything and environmentalist, oil companies and oil exporting nations would rather have you drive a hybrid than a flex fuel vehicle. The hybrid better serves each of their agendas. I seriously watch and wonder why there are no mass marketed Flex Fuel Hybrids? Perhaps the best of both worlds is just a little too good.

The bottom line is that Ethanol, Bio Diesel, Hybrid and Plug In Hybrids all have issues but they are all a step in the right direction. For those who knock me for using and advocating E85 just consider that we purchase oil from countries that are not friendly to the U.S. or U.S. allies. We purchase oil from countries that continue with centuries of ethnic violence, that do not support freedom of speech, freedom of religion or equal rights. These countries have long standing issues that won’t be resolved. In the United States we are faced with serious issue and disagreements in the development and use of alternative fuels but our issues will be resolved over time and we have the freedom to discuss these issues. Knowing this I would take ethanol over gas any day regardless of any current negative issues associated with the product.

1/13/08 Stop Flaming Ethanol -
Corn ethanol is not the answer but it is a starting point. Without corn ethanol no one would invest or switch to cellouse ethanol when and if the time comes. There is great interest, studies and processing plants being built for cellouse ethanol which  takes investors.  If corn based ethanol fell by the wayside so would those investors and a strong start to alternative fuels. Corn ethanol is helping build an alternative fuel delivery system which has been held hostage to big oil companies for decades. Right now in this country ethanol is also keeping the unemployment rate down, farms ,  creating U.S. based products. Corn and ethanol subsidies are injected back into the economy. The funds are injected back in the economy from farm equipment the farmer buys to the big screen TV the plant worker received for Christmas. The reduction of foreign oil by utilizing corn ethanol toady may not make an overall difference but according to fueleconomy.gov vehicles utilizing E85 use less barrels of oil than a Prius hybrid. Individuals using less foreign oil by choosing alternate fuel sources are where it all has to start. Corn ethanol is not the answer and cellouse ethanol is not ready for America. What corn ethanol is doing is creating a starting point for alternative fuels and an alternative fuel delivery system. I see a lot of flaming and heated arguments against ethanol but those individuals offer just flaming and no positive solutions. It is up to us as individuals whether corn ethanol has the opportunity to progress into something more or we continue to be held hostage to foreign countries and oil companies with record profits.

1/7/08 Don't Give Ethanol A Bad Rap -
Wow if you want to check out some crazy anti ethanol comments go to the youtube.com/bacararidgedotcom. That is the page that houses the E85 bad rap video I put together. The sooth sayers can't resist posting negative comments with no solutions. So many people confuse E85 as an environmental issue and they just can't get past it. At the moment environmental friendly fuel sources and alternative fuel sources are two separate issues. Why people can't get a grasp on this I just don't know. Hybrid vehicles have great fuel economy and really show a positive impact on the environment. The FFV uses less oil than the hybrid and promotes an alternative fuel source and delivery system. Two very different issues with some intertwining goals. Neither is a final solution just starting points.

I hope someday we will merge the two technologies with an affordable mass marketed FFV Hybrid. I know there are a few experimental units on the road. A Hybrid FFV would go a long way in reducing an individuals use of foreign oil consumption.

1/1/08 Happy New Year -
Happy New Year everyone. I sure hope 2008 brings an ethanol pump closer than the 13 miles I now travel. I was searching for some good video content for the E85 page. That was no easy task. I found a lot of racing, conversion and anti ethanol videos. The anti ethanol people still catch me off guard. Don't get me wrong this country was founded on a good debate and progression always seems to be met with resistance. What blows my mind is the people I see with the negative comments. Some prominent and intelligent individuals who have influence. The one that gets me the most is the Tortilla shortage due to corn prices. A different type of corn is used to make ethanol than what the shortage in Mexico was based on. Unfortunately due to the negative publicity machine the people of Mexico didn't know that. I hope everybody knows by now the same corn used for ethanol is used for live stock feed after the extraction process.

 What the anti E85 people don't mention is that the price of oil has doubled since the Bush administration took office. This means the price of everything will increase. My guess is the packaging of any food related item would cost more than the food itself. All those materials and the manufacturing of those materials will cost more because oil cost more. Practically a price rise of any product today has a direct link to the increased price of oil. Some of the anti ethanol people claim that there will never be enough ethanol produced to make a difference. I guess the people with that type of attitude would rather us to throw our hands up and say oh well I give.  I don't give so easily. I will still go out of my way to fill up with ethanol.  I go out of my way to I fill up with E85 because I feel good knowing that I am minimizing my oil consumption. I am sending less of my hard earned cash to country's who fight democracy, threaten our allies, don't support woman's rights, don't support freedom of religion or freedom of speech.  At the same time I am supporting the American farmer who has struggled for decades in this country. I also realize I am helping to develop new U.S. products and commerce for the next generation. It makes me wonder what the anti ethanol people feel like as they pump the gas?

12/15/07 Santa Fe -
I haven't written in this blog recently. I have been too busy ranting and raving everywhere else. Yesterday was fill up day and I thought screw the ethanol and just get gas. With all the holiday craziness it just didn't seem convenient to go 13 miles out of my way to fill up. Then it hit me that is just what the oil companies, fanatics, OPEC, futures investors and terrorist want. To keep me and everyone else dependant on oil. If I give in now I'll give in again. I am fortunate I have a very short commute and only on an average use 3/4 of a tank every two weeks. So I went for the ethanol.

I read in the NEVC latest newsletter where the city of Santa Fe has a full time energy specialist who is pressing the city manager to back off the use of ethanol. His rational is that 7% of the cities fleet are Flex Fuel mostly Tahoe's and Silverado's that are getting 8-10 miles per gallon. He has some stupid quote about donuts and says the vehicles are not helping the environment. I am so sick of the anti ethanol people referring to the environment. As you already know I consider ethanol a patriotic fuel and something that maybe a little easier on the greenhouse gases but surely not an environmental fix and there is no such fix at the moment.

The one point this clueless city manager fails to realize is that by the U.S. government ratings at fueleconomy.gov that V8 Silverado based on an average driver at 15,000 miles a year will consume 6.7 barrels of oil utilizing ethanol (approx 4 will be foreign). Without ethanol this same vehicle would consume 21.4 barrels of oil (approx 13 will be foreign). The estimated overall MPG is 12 for ethanol and 16 for oil. Keep in mind these numbers are for an average driver and not a city worker. Going back to my favorite analogy a 2008 Toyota Prius Hybrid uses 7.4 barrels of oil for the same 15K in miles (approx 4 foreign). So the big V8 Silverado used by an average driver utilizes less oil than the most economic hybrid sold today.
I can see where a city would be concerned about lower mileage and the cost effect that may have on their budget. Although that mileage difference is partially offset by the reduced price of ethanol. In my humble opinion what this city manager should be doing is research. Then maybe he would be more concerned with how much more oil Santa Fe would be using from foreign nations and how much more of this countries oil reserves the city would depleting without those ethanol vehicles. When it comes to flex fuel vehicles lets not just focus on the environmental issues but lets finally start talking about barrels of oil.

10/26/07 C'mon Bill -
I was watching Bill Maher last week and he was interviewing John Edwards and made some comments about Ethanol that bothered me. So I searched online for more info relating to his comment and found the transcript and when I read it. It made sense and I was no longer upset at Bill Maher but along the way I saw some the dumbest anti Ethanol comments by people you could imagine. So I felt I needed an additional blog area to voice my E85 opinions. Below is the transcript between Bill Maher and John Edwards:

MAHER: But – but, you support ethanol. You want us to produce 65 billion gallons by 2025. And ethanol from corn – which, of course, is grown in Iowa—[applause]—doesn’t do anything to reduce – from everything I’ve read – our dependency on foreign oil, and only makes a small dent in greenhouse gases. Why is this not a boondoggle? Why do I think if we had the first primary in Vermont, we would be subsidizing biofuels made out of syrup? [laughter]

EDWARDS: [he laughs] Because it’s your job to be a cynic.

MAHER: Well, it is. But am I wrong to be cynical about ethanol, corn ethanol?

EDWARDS: Ethanol is not – is not the ultimate answer. I think what ethanol does is it operates as a transitional product, allows us to create an infrastructure for delivery of other cellulose-based biofuels when they’re ready to put in place and marketable. Then we’re ready to go to it immediately. I think that’s the way to think about ethanol.

I believe Bill was referring specifically to Corn based Ethanol. Corn is not the final answer but it is one step closer to creating ethanol from plant waste (cellulosic ethanol) which is a cleaner renewable fuel. Couple this with creating ethanol from other sources such as sugar, wheat etc. We could go a long way in helping to reduce the dependency on foreign oil and moving into a new direction. His comment about it not reducing our dependency on foreign oil I believe is a little off base. I have listed my responses below to some of the the comments I read in my cyber travels.

Ethanol doesn't do anything to reduce foreign oil dependency:
With 250 million registered vehicles on the road the small amount of flex and bio fueled vehicles that we drive will not make a dent in the need for foreign oil but each one is one less. There is of course no way enough corn based ethanol could be created to fuel millions of vehicles but once again it is only a start and ethanol can be made out of many things including waste. www.fueleconomy.gov estimates that my vehicle on gas uses 19 barrels of oil per year (11 foreign 8 domestic) but using ethanol I only use 6.2 barrels of oil per year (4 foreign 2 domestic). So ethanol in fact makes an impact in my life by helping me reduce my personal dependency for foreign oil.

The trucks that haul ethanol cause more pollution:
They sure do and a lot of it because ethanol is transported by truck and oil in part is transported by pipeline. If we had an alternative fuel infrastructure in place those trucks could run on Bio Diesel along with a lot of other trucks hauling a lot of other freight "if you build it they will come". In order for this to happen we have got to build the infrastructure for delivery as Edwards pointed out and E85 is a starting point.

It takes a lot of energy to create ethanol:
It sure does. It also takes a lot of energy to convert oil to gas, for me to chow down on a nice steak (next section) etc. It takes energy to do anything that is why we must develop alternative fuels for not just auto's but our homes and lives. When you weigh the overall benefit of developing an alternative fuel system in the United States I think it is worth it.  

It drives up the price of food:
That is a crock. I have never purchased steaks cheaper than this summer. Rib eye and T Bone all summer long for $3.99 a lb and I live in the middle of the desert. Every week the grocery flyers were like Steak wars. The same corn used for corn based ethanol is then used for feed after the starch is extracted. If anything there is more feed for live stock if more corn is grown. I haven't really noticed a large increase in imitation butter, frozen vegetables, flour, bread etc. Maybe people should consider the rising price of oil as a catalyst for rising food prices. You know the more it cost to transport and deliver the ingredients and product the more you are going to pay. not to mention the increase in the price of electricity to manufacture these foods.

Final words for today:
We are not the only country to use flex fuel vehicles. Brazil started in the 70's using ethanol and now after three decades they are exporting ethanol to the tune of 600 million dollars a year. They export sugar based ethanol to Japan and Sweden. Now India and China are watching Brazil and it's progress as a possible futuristic role model. Seven out of ten vehicles in Brazil are flex fuel. No doubt Brazil has the precious commodity of sugar in which they use to produce ethanol. Right now In the U.S. we extract the starch from corn and turn it into sugar to create ethanol. This is more costly than the Brazilian model and takes more energy to produce the same product but Brazil once again has been in the ethanol production business for three decades.

For the anti ethanol people cut the negative crap and show me the better alternative. The bottom line is I drive an 07 Grand Marquis using E85. Nationally my vehicle running on E85 averages 6.2 barrels of oil per year. That is 1.2 barrels a year less then an 07 Toyota Prius Hybrid which averages 7.4 barrels per year. The Pruis is far better for the environment but it still uses more oil. The people who put down E85 ask yourself how many barrels of oil does your vehicle suck down? The data comes from www.fueleconomy.gov and they base the national average at 15,000 miles per year. I live just a couple of miles from work and only average about 7,000 miles per year so in reality by using E85 I use less than 3 barrels of oil per year. In my book that is pretty damn good.