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Ethanol isn't a good answer for replacing oilFri, 2006-08-25 01:46
Jeremy Cato, Globe & Mail It's not. But that hasn't stopped governments, auto makers and various industry lobby groups from pushing ahead enthusiastically on the ethanol front. Let's start with governments, which have set up new rules for ethanol that are aimed at reducing vehicle emissions. ...The truth is, ethanol is not as environmentally friendly as its most ardent supporters say and vehicle performance is compromised, too. True, compared with gasoline, ethanol produces 12-per-cent less so-called greenhouse gasses linked to global warming, notes a recent study from the University of Minnesota. But the researchers also said it has environmental drawbacks, including "markedly greater" releases of nitrogen, phosphorous and pesticides into waterways as runoff from cornfields. Ethanol, especially at higher concentrations in gasoline, also produces more smog-causing pollutants than gasoline per unit of energy burned, the researchers said. In addition, the researchers say ethanol would supply only 12 per cent of U.S. motoring fuel requirements even if every hectare of corn grown were used to fill gas tanks rather than hungry bellies. Biodiesel from soybeans is the better choice compared with corn-produced ethanol, say the researchers. But "neither can replace much petroleum without impacting food supplies," the researchers concluded in the paper, which was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. In a blow to those who support the kind of farmer subsidies that are rampant in Europe and North America, the paper supports an alternative to corn-based ethanol. The development of non-food materials such as switchgrass, prairie grasses and woody plants to produce cellulosic ethanol would be a major improvement with greater energy output and lower environmental impacts. Unfortunately, the creation of cellulosic ethanol remains in the laboratory research stage. And even non-food sources of ethanol would fall far short of replacing gasoline, most researchers agree.
Bookmark/Search this post with: Industrial Hemp is Drought Resistant and 100% Useful**Industrial hemp does not contribute to the greenhouse effect and is a renewable living resource. The growing plants absorb as much CO2 as will later be released when oil or other plant matter is burnt. Unlike fossil fuels, (oil, coal, gas), or nuclear fuels, hemp has provided us with raw materials for thousands of years, without ever changing our climate and without producing waste that remains radioactive for millions of years. During the Second World War, the U.S. federal government faced an extreme economic emergency when its supply of hemp was cut off by the Japanese. The government responded to the emergency by suspending marijuana prohibition***. Patriotic American farmers were encouraged to apply for a license to grow hemp. They responded enthusiastically and grew 375,000 acres of hemp in 1943. (16 Aug 2006). Post new comment |
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Ethanol, what oil companies don't want you to know
While this article may hold some facts, some of this is blown out of proportion. Take into account that the government pays some farmers not to plant a crop in a field or to plant a different crop. This keeps supply lower and keeps cost higher for the consumers (us) and helps keep farmers in bussiness, because lets face it, when the supply goes up prices go down. When the prices go down, farmers loose money. Another thing is the vehivle preformance, yes it lowers gas mileage SLIGHTLY I'm talking less than a mile a gallon, it also lowers high end horsepower because it burns slower. If you have higher compression then it works better because it increases the flamiblity. Around 150 Psi. It raises Low end power and tourqe tremendously. BECAUSE it burns slower. Now from a drag racing point of view this is bad, but from a normal driving point of view, this means you have the power you need to take off with out giving the engine the extra gas. Ethanol also is cleaner than gas, that is your injectors do not clog as easy. And water in you gas tank? Water will abosorb into alcohol, that is all that water remover is alcohol. So no more water in the tank. We've had the ability to run ethanol for years, if we could have started using it earlier look at all the improvements and data we could have now, but since a lot of people don't know a whole lot about it they are tring to scare you away from it. Just look at the name of the website, "my PEAK OIL"? What the reasearchers agree on is a guess, they have no idea what could happen, no one does. So it is up to us to make a decision, just remeber, vehicles with EFI (electronic fuel injection) and ET (electronic timing) adjust automatically for the fuel older may need to be tuned for the difference burning rates. Unless the vehicle is designed for E85, I would recomend a 50% mix with gasoline. Every 10% of ethanol adds 3 octane points. Again, I am just telling you facts, I invite you to make your own conclusion. The Horsepower part is from experiance and dyno tests on tractors running about 22 or 23 hundred RPM, older tractors about 1954 or so. IN my mind I think the article I am commenting on is a LOAD OF CRAP!!!!! Thanks for reading I hope you learned something.