Nickname: phil

Review: We don't need ethanol at all to help reduce our oil dependence. We have more oil domestically than the entire middle east. Look up the Green River Formation. We don't need to import a single drop of oil if we don't want to. Ethanol fuel is worthless.

Date reviewed: Feb 25, 2007 7:45 PM

Nickname: hawk

Review: Ethanol should be a major component of America's energy policy for a variey or reasons. Whether it is derived from corn, plant waste, or sugar cane America must relieve itself of our "addiction". The benefits far outweigh the costs. Who can argue against more jobs and dollars being pumped into our domestic economy? Who can argue against lower emmissions when global warming is accelerating at an alarming rate (especially when the US is about 5% of world population yet emits 25% of the world's carbon monoxide)? Who can argue against decreasing our dependence on a natural resource controlled by nations who call us the "infidels"? America consumes 21M barrels of oil/day and imports 60% of that #. Do we want to be held hostage to the extremists controlling the MidEast? I have visited Brazil a few times. It is a wonderful country filled with vibrant people. If they can wean themselves off Mideastern oil, I am pretty sure that we here in America can accomplish the same goal.

Date reviewed: Sep 15, 2006 6:20 PM

Nickname: Roy

Review: With the energy shortage scare over(for now),ethanol has suddendly fallen out of favor. A few weeks ago it was going to save us and a darling to just about everyone. Obviously to put ethonal on stream with success is a long term solution, Investors will not make immediate profits. We should plan for the future but Americans are too impatient to see it through. until another crisis comes along and alternative fuels will again be the lead story and be darlings again. Won't we ever learn...I doubt it.

Date reviewed: Sep 15, 2006 3:54 PM

Nickname: enviroguy

Review: I am a big supporter of alternative fuels, and agree with the first two comments left here. Greenshift Corporation (http://www.greenshift.com/) offers a way to signifigantly optimize the production of biofuels, yet they get no press. They essentially turn garbage into fuel.....perfect right, since we want less waste and more, cleaner fuel? I encourage everyone to check out their website, and i'm sure you'll be asking why they aren't more in the spotlight. (and no i don't work for them)

Date reviewed: Sep 14, 2006 4:31 PM

Nickname: flexiblefuelcars.org

Review: President Bush has steered our nation in the right direction of energy independence by promoting ethanol motor fuel in the Energy Act of 2005. Brazil was able to stop importing Middle East oil because it developed an ethanol production industry driven by its sugar cane plantations and because its motorists drive flexible fuel cars propelled by ethanol. The technology of turning biomass into ethanol in the U.S. should be developed on a broad front. It would be wonderful if raw cellulose could be efficiently turned into ethanol, but several costly steps are necessary to first turn it into sugar for fermentation to alcohol. Corn also requires intermediate steps. However, sugar cane yields sugar directly. Research funds should be provided for developing a strain of sugar cane that can grow in U.S. climates. In the meantime, people should consider growing sugar cane in Florida.

Date reviewed: Sep 14, 2006 5:08 AM

Nickname: Pat

Review: Ethanol 10% everywhere now!!! There is no reason not to mandate 10% ethanol in all gasoline now. It decreases dependance on foreign oil, is useable in all vehicles today, and will decrease CO2 emissions starting now. The arctic ice cap is melting, folks!!! What does it take to do the right thing?? Why doesn't the Cato Institute subtract existing subsidies for farmers that wouldn't need to be paid from the cost of subsidies for ethanol? Give the farmers a fair price for corn and maybe the Farm Program won't have to subsidize agriculture here!

Date reviewed: Sep 14, 2006 2:33 AM

Nickname: Norma

Review: An increasing number of existing and soon-to-be built ethanol plants are co-locating with livestock to provide a closed-loop system to (1) feed ethanol's byproducts to produce food, and (2) use the livestock's byproducts (manure) to produce all the energy for the ethanol plant. Watch for ethanol production costs to decrease substantially, and for the environmental and community economic benefits to increase.

Date reviewed: Sep 13, 2006 11:02 PM

Nickname: spratjack

Review: One point that is usually missed is that the dried grain which is a coproduct of the ethanol production process could be burned to create more than enough heat and electricity for the ethanol plant, plus extra electricity that could be sold back into the grid. This would completely change the energy balance calculations. Why isn't that being done? Because the dried grain is worth more as animal feed than as fuel (about 2.5x the price of coal). It's all about economics. It only costs about $1.10 to make a gallon of ethanol excluding gov't subsidies. I wish someone would publish hard data on corn subsidies - I think they amount to about $.15-$.25 per bushel of corn on average. The blenders credit is not paid to ethanol producers but to fuel blenders which are mostly oil companies. A few ethanol plants sell E85 directly. In that case they do keep the blenders credit which is why you can sometimes buy E85 for under $2.00 in the midwest.

Date reviewed: Sep 13, 2006 10:20 PM

Nickname: franklin

Review: I cannot believe someone would write an article attacking something on the grounds that it "doesn't make capitalistic sense" when it makes political, moral, environmental, and strategic sense. How can you throw the benefits out the window just because ethanol may not be the next investment bubble for your to roll all of oil and real estate profits into? Unbridled greed is ruining this country from the inside out.

Date reviewed: Sep 13, 2006 8:39 PM

Nickname: pjkbrit

Review: Agree with the above sentiments. Tractors over guns and bombs, money in the Middle West over money to the Middle East, enrich and invest in our infrastructure rather than do business with the tyranical nutcases who want us all dead. I'll pay $10.00 a gallon to tell them they are out of favors, out of work and out of order!

Date reviewed: Sep 13, 2006 8:26 PM