Corn based Fuel. Next "gold rush": Iowa? (Independence: house, work)

[jasperhobbs]

My car got fat and was ready to butcher in 8 months when I fed it corn based ethanol.

Jasper

Originally Posted by Katie1

Corn should feed people & animals Not cars!!

[Steve_W]

Originally Posted by Katie1

Corn should feed people & animals Not cars!!

According to whom? Should the methane from cows asses be used exclusively for us to choke on or is that ok to turn into energy?

Come on, anything we can do for some energy independence is good in my book.

[DanBev]

Think for one minute the cost of producing one gallon of ethanol???? From start to finish expensive and limited.Also think of cost from planting to harvest with tractor and truck getting it to market.My gas mileage dropped when in CT. last Oct.with ethanol from 25 to 22-23.

[HeneryHawk]

We can up the production of all ag products ( corn, beans, canes, etc ) easily, especially if the govt stops paying farmers to not produce. Put that land back under the plow and more can produced.

It we are so interested in being self sustaining, why not open up ANWR? Why not drill all along all our coasts, the Atlantic, the Gulf, the Pacific ( as former Sen.John Breaux D-LA asserted not too long ago ). Continue to invest in production of oil from Canada that comes out of the sand ( worth doing when oil is $60 and up ), and build refineries all over, as they promote more independence too. The running from modernity and sensibility is absurd.

[jasperhobbs]

It is kind of odd, the government is big on promoting ethanol yet pays farmers not to produce.

Many say there is still a lot of oil in the world. A year or so ago, a Saudi Arabia oil man whose name I can't recall said there is plenty of oil, the problem is there are not enough refineries in the USA to get it processed. The last new oil refinery built in the USA was in 1976. Environmental regulations and most cities just don't want one built in their backyard. So when a hurricane like Katrina knocks out a refinery or two, it really effects production.

I don't know if I buy anything they are saying though. If there is a lot of oil then why is per barrel price so high and if refining is the problem in the USA and not enough production capability then wouldn't that lead to shortages?

I have yet to drive by a gas station and see sign that says out of gas stop back tomorrow.

Might be like the seventies and supposed oil shortage that never was.

Jasper

Originally Posted by HeneryHawk

We can up the production of all ag products ( corn, beans, canes, etc ) easily, especially if the govt stops paying farmers to not produce. Put that land back under the plow and more can produced.

It we are so interested in being self sustaining, why not open up ANWR? Why not drill all along all our coasts, the Atlantic, the Gulf, the Pacific ( as former Sen.John Breaux D-LA asserted not too long ago ). Continue to invest in production of oil from Canada that comes out of the sand ( worth doing when oil is $60 and up ), and build refineries all over, as they promote more independence too. The running from modernity and sensibility is absurd.

[Steve_W]

I am curious as too how much oil the US and Canada are sitting on. Maybe our government is waiting until there is an extreme global shortage and the US and Canada would then be the energy giants??? I suppose for that kind of energy monopoly in the future I would be willing to pay $6/gallon.

I really doubt we have that much oil here though.

[jasperhobbs]

Canada and Mexico have a lot of oil. If you look at pie chart we import about 18% from Canada and 15% from Mexico, 15% from South American countries, 20% from Middle east and the rest from various parts of the world and some produced in USA. Canada is the country we import highest percentage due to proximity followed by Mexico which makes sense.

Jasper

Originally Posted by Steve_W

I am curious as too how much oil the US and Canada are sitting on. Maybe our government is waiting until there is an extreme global shortage and the US and Canada would then be the energy giants??? I suppose for that kind of energy monopoly in the future I would be willing to pay $6/gallon.

I really doubt we have that much oil here though.

[my54ford]

A few problems with corn based ethonal
it takes almost as much energy to produce as you get out of it.
it has less btu so you use more then pet based fuel which negates any emmision benefit
uses tons of water! I thought I saw 33000 gallons per gallon??? but that may be inaccurate.
I know in Mn they just took 3 plants off the drawing board........

[Plains10]

Originally Posted by Steve_W

I hope the ethanol market doesn't go bust. Council Bluffs just built a new coal power plant and are building 2 ethanol plants just to the south on I-29. 2 abandoned ethanol plants would look disgusting.

Well, that would be putting too many economic eggs in one basket, eh? The ethanol boom is already slowing down. The Wall Street Journal even ran an article on it about 1-2 months ago and they said that ethanol really does not make good economic sense. That should tell you something because economists are usually very optimistic

[futurecitizen]

[quote=jasperhobbs;2713420]It is kind of odd, the government is big on promoting ethanol yet pays farmers not to produce.

Not that odd: if you over-produce the land, the land won't produce. Basic rotation of crops to ensure fertility of land... It's an ancient principle, but one most farmers can't afford to do without the subsidies.