Produce my own Ethanol in Cary HOA neighborhood?

[StoneOne]

While it sounds like a good idea at first, I wonder what the cost of doing this would be in terms of:

• Electricity used (from what I understand, producing ethanol is very energy-intensive)
• Time (could you better spend that time to make more money that would more than cover the cost of the higher gas?)

On the issue of time as well, you have to factor in potential hassles when it comes to regulatory authorities (someone is definitely going to pursue you for taxes), as well as the strong likelihood your HOA will get pesky about you growing corn and producing ethanol (you do live in Cary, don't you?).

You might be better off buying a couple acres of land far outside the city and doing it there, although I don't know if land prices around here are cheap enough to make it that economical.

Good luck, though. I definitely applaud any efforts that people make to deal with these gas prices (be it alternative fuels, conservation, etc), rather than whining for the politicians to solve their problems through stupid ideas like cutting the federal excise tax.

[travelmate38]

Originally Posted by StoneOne

While it sounds like a good idea at first, I wonder what the cost of doing this would be in terms of:

• Electricity used (from what I understand, producing ethanol is very energy-intensive)
• Time (could you better spend that time to make more money that would more than cover the cost of the higher gas?)

On the issue of time as well, you have to factor in potential hassles when it comes to regulatory authorities (someone is definitely going to pursue you for taxes), as well as the strong likelihood your HOA will get pesky about you growing corn and producing ethanol (you do live in Cary, don't you?).

You might be better off buying a couple acres of land far outside the city and doing it there, although I don't know if land prices around here are cheap enough to make it that economical.

Good luck, though. I definitely applaud any efforts that people make to deal with these gas prices (be it alternative fuels, conservation, etc), rather than whining for the politicians to solve their problems through stupid ideas like cutting the federal excise tax.

For the record this was a only a hypothetical question. That being said, all signs point towards $6-$8 a gallon for regular unleaded in 18 months. Scary stuff for sure.

Bottom line, our rotten politicians need to do more to create alternative energy sources IN AMERICA FOR AMERICANS, not in the future, but yesterday! We are so far behind the curve on this it is not even funny.

Did you know there is more oil in America then the entire middle east combined? We have a 200 year supply right here. Problem is most of it is trapped in rock formation or combined with sand. These types of oil formations can be extracted and produced for fuel, but since we did little to develope this technology, it is still too expensive to produce. The know how is there, but now it might be too late?

So now we are on a destined path to pay $8 a gallon at the pump and seemingly no way to stop it. $8 is bad, but what it will do to our overall economic condition is what we all really need to worry about.

[StoneOne]

Originally Posted by travelmate38

For the record this was a only a hypothetical question. That being said, all signs point towards $6-$8 a gallon for regular unleaded in 18 months. Scary stuff for sure.

Bottom line, our rotten politicians need to do more to create alternative energy sources IN AMERICA FOR AMERICANS, not in the future, but yesterday! We are so far behind the curve on this it is not even funny.

Did you know there is more oil in America then the entire middle east combined? We have a 200 year supply right here. Problem is most of it is trapped in rock formation or combined with sand. These types of oil formations can be extracted and produced for fuel, but since we did little to develope this technology, it is still too expensive to produce. The know how is there, but now it might be too late?

So now we are on a destined path to pay $8 a gallon at the pump and seemingly no way to stop it. $8 is bad, but what it will do to our overall economic condition is what we all really need to worry about.

I agree. We could also use a huge cultural change as well. Think about office jobs, for example. Think about how many jobs there are that really could be done at home if people were trained right to be disciplined. This would reduce gas consumption drastically, not only for those employees but for society as a whole.

There is tons of oil in the U.S. and Canada. They just made two huge potential finds in North Dakota and Pennsylvania. It's well known that the Florida coast, especially on the Gulf side is rich in oil. Unlike 50 or even 10-15 years ago, the technology exists to drill for that oil safely, cleanly and efficiently. I think it's safe to say that global oil prices won't go much below $60-70 per barrel, which is still expensive enough to make this hard-to-reach oil economically viable.

I have absolutely no problem with people privately growing ethanol for their own fuel needs, but I don't think it's something that needs to be encouraged on a commercial level, as it's been shown to lead to higher food prices.

What would be interesting is to see what would happen if we got the U.S. and European governments to make statements about putting billions of dollars into nuclear and other energy sources. Just that kind of language might be enough to send oil prices tumbling a bit.

In any event, we need politicians who are focused not only on alternative energy, but also on strengthening the value of the dollar. The weak dollar has been a major reason for the high oil and gas prices lately.