Ethanol: The Facts
The Ethanol Delusion
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Expanding ethanol use will not reduce global warming, bring down gas prices, relieve our dependence on foreign oil, starve terrorists of funding, restore the family farm, or create jobs. In fact, using more ethanol increases greenhouse gas production and local air pollution and is water-intensive as well as land-intensive.
Nanoscale catalysts turn waste material into ethanol
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AMES, Iowa –Say the word “biofuels” and most people think of grain ethanol and biodiesel. But there’s another, older technology called gasification that’s getting a new look from researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory and Iowa State University. By combining gasification with high-tech nanoscale porous catalysts, they hope to create ethanol from a wide range of biomass, including distiller’s grain left over from ethanol production, corn stover from the field, grass, wood pulp, animal waste, and garbage.
Slow down the ethanol juggernaut.
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Washington’s command-and-control approach to the promotion of ethanol and other biofuels has unleashed a host of unintended consequences.The main culprit: the federal mandate forcing 9 billion gallons of ethanol to be produced this year. Satisfying the mandate has diverted roughly 30 percent of U.S. corn production to biofuels. And while the ethanol requirement is not the only factor roiling global food markets — the falling dollar and rising energy prices have also hiked costs — if the mandate did not exist, more corn would be available to feed people and livestock.
Uprising Against the Ethanol Mandate – NYTimes.com
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The ethanol industry, until recently a golden child that got favorable treatment from Washington, is facing a critical decision on its future.Gov. Rick Perry of Texas is asking the Environmental Protection Agency to temporarily waive regulations requiring the oil industry to blend ever-increasing amounts of ethanol into gasoline. A decision is expected in the next few weeks.Mr. Perry says the billions of bushels of corn being used to produce all that mandated ethanol would be better suited as livestock feed than as fuel.Feed prices have soared in the last two years as fuel has begun competing with food for cropland.
“When you find yourself in a hole, you have to quit digging,” Mr. Perry said in an interview. “And we are in a hole.”
Governors talk of moving beyond corn-based ethanol.
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PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Governors from the coal fields of West Virginia to the corn fields of Iowa talked Sunday at their summer meeting about moving beyond ethanol produced just from food sources.
They sometimes have different priorities in reaching this conclusion – priorities that can be as simple as who grows corn and who feeds it to livestock.
And they’re also not talking about replacement so much as supplementing: using switchgrass or wood waste products, for example, along with corn.
Tropical Biofuels Getting Less and Less Green.
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A new analysis suggests that biofuels grown in the tropics are not a much greener source of energy than drilling for oil–at least in the short term. The research paints an even gloomier picture of biofuels than previous studies, which have begun to cast doubts on the greenhouse gas benefits that these alternatives to petroleum might provide.
TheHill.com – GOP candidates to visit ANWR to promote drilling
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Five Republican congressional candidates will travel to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska to promote drilling there to reduce the U.S.’s dependence on foreign oil.
“With gas prices at an all-time high, we need to take steps now to reduce our dependence on foreign oil,” said trip participant Craig Williams, who is challenging Joe Sestak (D-Pa.). “We have energy resources available to us domestically that can cut our dependence on foreign oil and provide a bridge to tomorrow when we can more heavily rely on renewable energy resources such as hydro-electric, solar and wind power.”
VeraSun Energy puts 3rd ethanol plant on hold
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NEW YORK (Associated Press) – Ethanol producer VeraSun Energy Corp. on Wednesday raised to three the number of newly built production facilities whose startup is being delayed due to “volatility in the market.”
Texas Governor Rick Perry’s ethanol stance stirs up backers, foes | Dallas Morning News | News for Dallas, Texas | Texas Regional News
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WASHINGTON – Texas Gov. Rick Perry has touched off a new battle over America’s use of corn-based ethanol, dividing the powerful agricultural lobby and forcing regulators to grapple with the fuel’s impact on food prices.
Pacific Ethanol shares fall after McCain interview, USDA report – Sacramento Business Journal:
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Shares of Pacific Ethanol plummeted almost 6 percent in trading Wednesday, a day after the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported a lower-than-expected corn harvest and Republican presidential candidate John McCain said the federal government should end ethanol subsidies.
Brazilian president slams U.S. corn ethanol.
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Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Monday that a U.S. tariff on Brazilian ethanol does not make sense and that he will complain about it to U.S. President George W. Bush when the American leader visits Brazil later this week.
FREEWHEELING / Ethanol gets a possible comeback
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Ethanol – essentially grain alcohol – has been used as a fuel since the birth of the internal-combustion engine. Moving into this century, several carmakers have been promoting ethanol (blended with gasoline) as a way to reduce the nation’s dependence on foreign oil and to reduce emissions.
Corn ethanol plant stalls, with sustainability doubts and financing crunch
Study: Ethanol Production Consumes Six Units Of Energy To Produce Just One
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In 2004, approximately 3.57 billion gallons of ethanol were used as a gas additive in the United States, according to the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA). During the February State of the Union address, President George Bush urged Congress to pass an energy bill that would pump up the amount to 5 billion gallons by 2012. UC Berkeley geoengineering professor Tad W. Patzek thinks that’s a very bad idea.
NEW TREND IN BIOFUELS HAS NEW RISKS | National Center for Policy Analysis
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In the past year, as the diversion of food crops like corn and palm to make biofuels has helped to drive up food prices, investors and politicians have begun promoting newer, so-called second-generation biofuels as the next wave of green energy. These, made from non-food crops like reeds and wild grasses, would offer fuel without the risk of taking food off the table, says the New York Times.But now, biologists and botanists are warning that they, too, may bring serious unintended consequences:
- Most of these newer crops are what scientists label invasive species — that is, weeds — that have an extraordinarily high potential to escape biofuel plantations.
- Once they do, they overrun adjacent farms and natural land, and create economic and ecological havoc in the process.
- Currently, the Global Invasive Species Program estimates that the damage from all invasive species costs the world more than $1.4 trillion annually — five percent of the global economy.
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Senator promotes bill to freeze ethanol mandate | Reuters
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Texas Republican Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison introduced legislation on Monday to freeze the federal mandate for corn-based ethanol at this year’s current level of 9 billion gallons.Hutchison said her legislation allows for necessary adjustments in the renewable fuel standard to transition to a more realistic and sustainable source which does not use food for fuel.
Administration allies strike against ethanol critics – MarketWatch
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Friends of the White House are lashing back against an anti-ethanol campaign. Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer defended ethanol at a press event Monday, saying that developing diversity in the U.S. portfolio of fuel is central to security. In response to recent reports that the Grocery Manufacturers Association paid a public-relations firm to campaign against ethanol, Schafer said “clearly we have a difference of opinion with the GMA.”
Rethinking Ethanol – New York Times
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The time has come for Congress to rethink ethanol, an alternative fuel that has lately fallen from favor. Specifically, it is time to end an outdated tax break for corn ethanol and to call a timeout in the fivefold increase in ethanol production mandated in the 2007 energy bill.
Food crisis provides opening for array of ethanol opponents
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NEW YORK (Associated Press) – The global rise in food prices is giving political ammunition to opponents of the country’s ethanol policy and creating some uncertainty for the burgeoning and heavily subsidized biofuels industry.
Corn Ethanol Loses More Support – WSJ.com
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Rising food prices are prodding lawmakers in Washington to rethink support for corn ethanol.
Two dozen Republican senators on Friday — including Republican presidential candidate John McCain (R., Ariz.) — asked the Environmental Protection Agency to ease requirements mandated by Congress in 2007 to blend more ethanol and other renewable fuels into the gasoline supply.
Congress Tackles Food Costs, Ethanol – Forbes.com
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Global food shortages are becoming an increasing reality. The reasons behind it are weighty and numerous.
Food prices have risen worldwide, leading to riots in some countries, rice and flour smuggling in others and thinner wallets all around.
ADM 3rd-qtr profit rises; shrs off on ethanol worry.
(My Comment)
There’s hope!
Ethanol: It Looks Cheaper, But Looks Can Be Deceiving|NewsChannel 8
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Seeking relief from high gas prices? There’s a new gas station offering fuel for under $3.00 per gallon. But, is it really worth it in the long run?
It’s for the alternative fuel E-85, the ethanol-based fuel made mostly from corn. Its logo has a bunch of clouds in a drop of water. Eco-friendly, feel-good fuel. And, the icing on the cake is the price so beautiful you’ll start drooling.
Texas Governor Seeks Waiver on Ethanol Rules – Economy * US * News * Story – CNBC.com
Undoing America’s Ethanol Mistake
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The Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman once said, “One of the great mistakes is to judge policies and programs by their intentions rather than their results.”
When Congress passed legislation to greatly expand America’s commitment to biofuels, it intended to create energy independence and protect the environment
Ethanol pumped in all states but not everyone sold on it
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Ethanol has a toe-hold in every state, pushed by increased production, government subsidies and people looking to save a few pennies at the pump.”For the farmer, it’s another market for our product — this is a good thing,” said Mike Clemens, a Wimbledon farmer and a director of the North Dakota Corn Growers Association.”Corn is an American-made product that we convert into an American-made fuel,” Clemens said. “It lessens the reliance on foreign oil, helps the economy and helps the farmer — I don’t know why anybody wouldn’t like it.”
Harvesting Trouble: Pressure Grows on EU to Abandon Biofuels – International – SPIEGEL ONLINE – News
It’s time to scrap the ethanol boondoggle.
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Government-funded conversion to “biofuels” such as ethanol is scarcely helping with energy efficiency and is exacerbating a global food crisis. It’s time for Canada to reverse course on this failed approach.
Ethanol pro and con: New energy source means brighter future | ajc.com
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The pursuit of 21st-century energy solutions is an urgent concern of American consumers and our government. With the average price of gasoline in the United States climbing to more than $3.50 a gallon in some cities, drivers cringe when they pull up to the pump. And while the economic impact of a petroleum-based energy system affects virtually every American, so do the consequences for national security.
Technology Review: Corn Primed for Making Biofuel
Shoots and leaves: To facilitate the breakdown of cellulose into fermentable sugars for making ethanol, Mariam Sticklen of Michigan State University is genetically modifying corn with genes that produce cellulose-degrading enzymes in the plant’s stems and leaves. The enzymes are activated only after the corn is harvested, when the plant is ground up.
Credit: Michigan State University
Is Ethanol’s Carbon Footprint Bad? It Depends.
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In the cleantech and carbon worlds, the carbon footprint of ethanol, whether from corn or sugar feedstocks and fermentation processes, or enzymatic or thermochemical cellulosic sources, is always good fodder (or perhaps, “fuel”) for debate.
The ethanol tax (Minnesota).
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For all the talk about the ruin to be caused by the gas tax increase in Minnesota, comparatively little is said in the state these days about the “ethanol tax,” which has had a significant impact in the cost of operating a vehicle and may, according to some people, have a role in rapidly increasing food prices.
Can’t eat ethanol – The Boston Globe
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CORN should be used for food, not motor fuel, and yet the United States is committed to a policy that encourages farmers to turn an increasing amount of their crop into ethanol. This may save the nation a bit of the cost of imported oil, but it increases global-warming gases and contributes to higher food prices.
Ethanol And Hunger.
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For most Americans, the rising prices at the supermarket are definitely an annoyance, but hardly a threat to life and health. It’s a different story in countries like Haiti, where food inflation has led to real hunger and, last week, to riots.
Time to end ethanol experiment – Thu, Apr 10, 2008
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Evidence of the negative impact and inefficiency of biofuels, especially corn ethanol, requires an immediate end to their subsidization and potential mandated usage.The most immediate impact has been felt in escalating food prices. Because corn has been diverted to subsidized ethanol, and less wheat planted to increase this diversion, we have experienced price increases in cereal, dairy, and meat products. Besides this, the evidence is in that corn ethanol is not a clean-burning fuel, and its all-out production has added to environmental pollution.
Breakthrough In Biofuel Production Process
Reason Magazine – The Biggest Green Mistake, Biofuels and the global food crisis
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In the last year, the price of wheat has tripled, corndoubled, and rice almost doubled. As prices soared, food riots have broken out in about 20 poor countries including Yemen, Haiti, Egypt,Pakistan, Indonesia, Ivory Coast, and Mexico. In response some countries, such as India, PakistanEgypt and Vietnam, are banning the export of grains and imposing food price controls.
Are rising food prices the result of the economic dynamism of China and India, in which newly prosperous consumers are demanding more food—especially more meat? Perennial doomsters such as the Earth Policy Institute’s Lester Brown predicted more than a decade ago that China’s growing food demand would destabilize global markets and signal a permanent increase in grain prices. But that thesis has so far not been borne out by the facts. China is a net grain exporter. India is also largely self-sufficient in grains. At some time in the future, these countries may become net grain importers, but they are not now and so cannot be blamed to for today’s higher food prices.
End the Ethanol Scam :: Liberty Maven
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The latest from
DownsizeDC.org urges us to
tell congress to stop wasting our tax dollars on the devastating scam of ethanol production.
Alert on risks of ethanol subsidies | The Australian
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THE Productivity Commission wants the Rudd Government tourgently review the multi-million-dollar assistance for the ethanol industry amid growing warnings the program is pushing up the price of feed grain.
The commission’s latest trade and assistance review estimates the commonwealth will spend $31.9 million on the ethanol production subsidy scheme this financial year and demands a review of the program as a matter of priority.
It warns that ethanol assistance is increasing feed grain prices, echoing a research paper by the Commonwealth Parliamentary Library that found diverting feedstock to mandated ethanol production would increase the trade deficit.
Medill Reports: Less corn bad news for ethanol industry
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WASHINGTON — More trouble is in store for the already ailing ethanol industry based on a government report released earlier this week.The United States Department of Agriculture forecasts there will be 8 percent fewer acres of corn planted this year compared with last year, which will likely raise the price and further squeeze ethanol producers, industry experts said.
Fuel or folly? / Ethanol and the law of unintended consequences
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In the pantheon of well-intentioned governmental policies gone awry, massive ethanol biofuel production may go down as one of the biggest blunders in history. An unholy alliance of environmentalists, agribusiness, biofuel corporations and politicians has been touting ethanol as the cure to all our environmental ills, when in fact it may be doing more harm than good. An array of unintended consequences is wreaking havoc on the economy, food production and, perhaps most ironically, the environment.
Ethanol A Myth? (Video)
Debating whether the promise of ethanol is a myth, with Bob Dinneen, CEO of the Renewable Fuel Association, and Jerry Taylor, of the Cato Institute
Chief scientist revolts over biofuel legislation – earth – 29 March 2008 – New Scientist Environment
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Could biofuels do more damage to the climate than the fossil fuels they replace? That’s the fear casting doubt on the wisdom of a law that from next month will require a certain proportion of vehicle fuel to come from biological sources.On Monday, Bob Watson, chief scientist at the UK’s Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs, called into question the idea of switching to biofuels. This follows the publication of studies showing that more carbon is emitted in producing some biofuels than is saved by burning them in place of fossil fuels. Former UK chief scientist David King also denounced biofuels that displace food crops and tropical rainforests.
Indian Oil plans to enter ethanol production.
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New Delhi, March 30 Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOC) is studying various options for becoming an ethanol producer from being just a buyer. The company would be looking at both organic and inorganic prospects for expanding its business in the bio-fuel category.
Mr B.M. Bansal, IOC’s Director, Planning and Business Development, told Business Line that the company plans to seek expert advice on whether it is viable to purchase sick sugar mills or if it is better to set up a new project.
WMU researchers to study how to convert algae into ethanol – NewsFlash – mlive.com
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KALAMAZOO, Mich. (AP) — A group of Western Michigan University researchers working to transform grease into biodiesel for city buses is planning to research how to effectively convert algae into ethanol.Steven Bertman, a chemistry professor, was among a group of investigators who gave U.S. Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., a presentation of their ideas Thursday, the Kalamazoo Gazette reported.
U.S. ethanol margins up as corn slips | Environment | Reuters
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NEW YORK (Reuters) – Average profits for distilling U.S. ethanol rose this week on softer corn prices, but analysts were cautious that a USDA planting report due on Monday could be bad news for a continued rise in profits.Ethanol margins this week were about 10 cents higher at 25 to 35 cents-per-gallon from the range seen in recent weeks on softer corn prices, analysts estimated.
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Ethanol is a bad idea, on many levels. More specifically corn based ethanol. Here are some facts about ethanol from an article by Ed Wallace, a writer for Business Week. The article is entitled Ethanol: A Tragedy in 3 Acts
- Ethanol increases VOC Emissions (as compared to “regular” gas).
- Ethanol is heavily subsidized and most likely would not survive on its own without being mandated.
- Fuel economy (gas mileage) drops by 25 to 30 percent using ethanol.
- Ethanol takes more energy to create than it delivers. Taken into account along with the loss of efficiency, ethanol is a net energy waster.
- Ethanol can’t be blended at refineries and pumped through the nation’s gasoline pipelines.
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