Duane's Comments

The authors of the comments are right on.   Corn will never become a major player in the ethanol industry in California.

Cellulosic ethanol from agriculture wastes are much more likely.  In California alone there is potential for over 2 billion gallons of ethanol on a annual basis just from waste products.

The author of this article is a little off based with her figures.  There are actually 130 ethanol plants in operation, not 111.

 Also it is projected that only 20% of the corn crop for 2008 will be used for ethanol production.  That is a long way from 50%.

It is sure funny how the anti-ethanol crowd will skew the real facts and figures.

We will use about 3 billion bushels of this years corn crop to make ethanol and the other 10 billion bushels will be used to fill all other commitments, which is more than we had last year. 

 

 

 

Some folks are so negative that they just cannot asborb what this article really said.

They are talking about researching new biofuel blends optimized for perform for interenal combustion engines.

What is wrong with that?  Did you know that you can create biodiesel and ethanol from fast growing algaes that can produce 10,000 gallons per acre.  That my friend in not a food sourse.

It is also a fact that dedicated ethanol engines can get better performance and mileage than gas engines.

This is a great program and will help solve are long term energy needs.

Some folks are always negative, but I am an optimist and believe that we must move forward.  The alternative is to set around and do nothing until the Arab nations cut us off again! 

 

 

 

 

 

Actually Ann and Russ are way out in left field. The links that Russ provided are nothing more than biased reports by reporters that are against biofuels. There is not one shred of research to back up any of these statements.

If farmers want to sell their soy beans to a biodiesel plant that is their business, not yours or mine!

Also there are plenty of other feedstocks that are being used for biodiesel.

There is also considerable research and developement going on with algae. Algae can and will yield many times more biodiesel than soy and other grain feedstocks.

Actually the amount of energy associated with ethanol has been way over hyped. There may be 30% less energy, but that does not necessarily mean 30% less mileage. Many folks are experiencing a loss of 8-12%.

There are other alternative fuels that are under developement right now. Butanol for one. It is another alcohol that has a similar energy to gasoline.

It is very clear that a big oil does not want any competition. 100 million is a drop in the bucket on what they will spend in the future to keep alternative energy at bay.

This is all balanoey. Only three states have mandated this switch. Don't blame it on ethanol. Put the blame where it belongs, on the oil companies.

I am all for it. We need all the help we can get for these new energy systems.

Go get um Wisconsin. Would love to see something like this in WVA.

Salute!!!

I am all for ethanol and also bio-diesel. Let's turn American farmers loose and thumb our noses at the Arab shieks!