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Ethanol is a wonderful product, if you're into starving the world's poorest children. The U.S. accounts for about a third of the world's corn crop and, years before EPA's 15% ethanol mandate, a third of that production was going into our tanks. I found a truly, to me, infuriating article in a 2009 Harvard International Review, hardly a right wing publication. Those of you who detest Big Oil should read it. Especially where it explains how much more imported oil is required to produce this wonderful - oops, Harvard-described product as "unsustainable."
I found this quote from the article illustrative of the senseless ideology forced down our throats by EPA/NHTSA et al. "Thus, 22 pounds of corn grain is required to produce 1 gallon of ethanol. To fill the fuel tank of a SUV vehicle with corn ethanol requires a total of 660 pounds of corn or food. This is enough corn to feed two people in a developing country for an entire year. Furthermore, to produce corn ethanol, 46 percent more fossil energy is required to produce a liter of ethanol than than is yielded. Oil therefore must be imported to produce ethanol. As a result, the cost to produce 1 liter of corn ethanol is US$1.05 per liter or US$3.95 per gallon."
Article
It's really worth reading. Keep in mind, this is an old article. As is usually the case with government run programs, the bad numbers just get bigger and bigger with time.
I actually found this article while simply looking for information on suitable fuel for DW's new Ford Expedition. I had gone to a FAQ page produced at a site Ford referred me to. I recognized the misleading spin put into this response to a consumer question of whether ethanol affects food prices:
Ethanol has a marginal impact on food prices.
In 2011, ethanol used less than three percent of the global grain supply.
Approximately 3 percent of food production costs are related to corn prices.
In contrast, 80 percent of food prices are directly determined by: transportation, processing, packaging and marketing.
Spin Alerts were all over that answer, diluting the impact by switching from corn to All grains, and folding corn into All foods.
Spin
This led me to look further, where the Harvard article came in.
I found this quote from the article illustrative of the senseless ideology forced down our throats by EPA/NHTSA et al. "Thus, 22 pounds of corn grain is required to produce 1 gallon of ethanol. To fill the fuel tank of a SUV vehicle with corn ethanol requires a total of 660 pounds of corn or food. This is enough corn to feed two people in a developing country for an entire year. Furthermore, to produce corn ethanol, 46 percent more fossil energy is required to produce a liter of ethanol than than is yielded. Oil therefore must be imported to produce ethanol. As a result, the cost to produce 1 liter of corn ethanol is US$1.05 per liter or US$3.95 per gallon."
Article
It's really worth reading. Keep in mind, this is an old article. As is usually the case with government run programs, the bad numbers just get bigger and bigger with time.
I actually found this article while simply looking for information on suitable fuel for DW's new Ford Expedition. I had gone to a FAQ page produced at a site Ford referred me to. I recognized the misleading spin put into this response to a consumer question of whether ethanol affects food prices:
Ethanol has a marginal impact on food prices.
In 2011, ethanol used less than three percent of the global grain supply.
Approximately 3 percent of food production costs are related to corn prices.
In contrast, 80 percent of food prices are directly determined by: transportation, processing, packaging and marketing.
Spin Alerts were all over that answer, diluting the impact by switching from corn to All grains, and folding corn into All foods.
Spin
This led me to look further, where the Harvard article came in.
