Alt fuels was Re: [AT] Gasoline $

[Steve W.]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Rob Wilson" <rowilson at infinet.com>
To: "'Antique tractor email discussion group'"
<at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
Sent: Wednesday, August 10, 2005 10:41 PM
Subject: RE: Alt fuels was Re: [AT] Gasoline $


> I don't understand why a country like Brazil has Ethanol
> fueled cars available and we don't. Ethanol costs about
> 1/2 what gasoline costs and is renewable. The article even
> talks about an owner of a 2004 Chevy Montana pickup happy
> to be paying $10 to fill up instead of $17.
>
> http://www.aiada.org/article.asp?id=21731
>
> This is ridiculous! If we really want to stop buying
> imported oil, we could burn ethanol made from American
> grown corn and use it in your General Motors built truck.
> This would make corn worth more than $2.00 a bushel and
> we can't have that. Sort of like the bio diesel made
> from US grown soy beans now.
> Then again we could always look into the technology
> that bankrupted Allis-Chalmers when the government pulled
> it's money out of coal gasification that A-C had invested
> everything in when the foreign oil got cheap again. The
> thought of using USA coal to power our cars and homes and
> keep the people working in the places the coal comes from
> sounds good to me. It seems every time we get close to
> developing a new source for fuel the foreign oil prices
> drop making the alternate fuel more expensive and the
> bottom drops out and we go back to oil. Sounds like a
> conspiracy to me :)
> Rob
>
>
Real simple. Those third world countries have VERY CHEAP labor. Most of
the fuel they produce is made in small quantities by locals and then
sold locally. In order to produce enough to fuel the current American
"fleet" you would need to produce more alcohol than we have the
materials for production. Also I don't know how you figure that ethanol
is so cheap. It isn't. Also it is a REAL mileage killer when run
straight in an engine. You lose half your mileage running it. If you add
in ALL the costs of production for both Alcohol and for Bio-diesel you
will also find out that it takes MORE energy to produce it than it
returns, they are both net energy losers.