Comments on: Ethanol Still Not Lowering the Real Cost of Gasoline

By: Geoff Sander

Geoff Sander — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 14:29:12 +0000

Here are two concrete facts that disprove the ethanol claims;

If ethanol yielded more energy than is required to produce it, everyone would be doing it & getting rich in the process. Obviously if one BTU of energy produced ethanol with two BTU of energy, the chain reaction would have the world swimming in cheap energy. Even if the increase was very small, the end result would be the same.

Ethanol usage is forced on us and production is subsidized by governments all over the world. If ethanol is cheaper than gasoline, why does it have to be subsidized & why are laws required to force us to use it? You can see that if ethanol production was really competitive with gasoline, production plants would be springing up all over the place. In fact, oil producers PAY taxes and ethanol producers RECEIVE tax dollars.

Using common sense is a far more effective way to gauge the world than relying on every self-serving “scientific study” that rolls across the landscape. Read more in Kids Before Trees; get it at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/80505

By: Gerald Gallagher

Gerald Gallagher — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 11:28:06 +0000

Too bad we don’t pay government ‘experts’ and other employees on their actual results not the b.s. they make- up. Gas is cheaper to produce than E10; if the oil companies won’t refine in this country,THAT is something congress could mandate. Don’t tell us something that has less energy is better than gas-oh, and more destructive to the earth.Check the owners and supporters of E10 and E85-are they politically connected?bet your ass they are. We raise food prices,get worse fuel mileage , ruin our vehicles AND pay too much at the pump-where can I get it? Know this:the people we pay to look out for us suck. Lie,cheat,steal to make their stats work.

By: jlsmith

jlsmith — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 01:06:45 +0000

The ethanol crowd has time on its side. Weather you like it or not, cheap oil is gone and the price to extract oil from the ground will only continue to increase. The debate about mileage lost is mute. You cant burn what you don’t have and eventually over time, the price difference between ethanol and gasoline will move in the direction of ethanols favor.
Engines that are optimized for ethanol have proven to produce more power, with less fuel and fewer cubic inches. The savings in weight and increased efficiency result in higher mpg for ethanol than gasoline.
Either get on the cart, or get out of the way.

By: Brendan

Brendan — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 06:21:56 +0000

I have a Flex Fuel vehicle that tells me actual miles per tank of gas with E85 and with regular gasoline. A full tank of E85 gas will get me 257 miles a tank. A full tank of regular gas gets me 331 miles a tank. A full tank of ethanol costs 41 bucks. A full tank of regular gas costs 70. Ethanol does, in fact, save me a bundle. I just have to fill up more often when I use it consistently.

By: Matthew W

Matthew W — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 16:10:34 +0000

One statistical lie::
“Farmers grow less acres of corn today than in 1930.”

Instead, tell us the difference in total BUSHELS being produced.

Liberals and greenies need to get past the idea that at this very time we need to “reinvent” gasoline.

By: Brian McGraw

Brian McGraw — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 13:52:19 +0000

Robert,

I linked to e85prices.com in my post, not sure how you missed it.

You can also visit the Alternative Fuels and Advanced Vehicles Data Center at the Department of Energy (http://www.afdc.energy.gov/afdc/vehicles/flexible_fuel_what_is.html?0/E85/) and use their cost calculator to come to the same conclusion.

But you work for the Renewable Fuels Association so I think its quite obvious that we will never agree on this issue.

Brian McGraw

By: Brian McGraw: Ethanol Still Not Lowering the Real Cost of Gasoline | JunkScience.com

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 07:51:34 +0000

[...] Cooler Heads Share this:PrintEmailMoreStumbleUponTwitterFacebookDiggRedditLike this:LikeBe the first to like this post. This entry was posted in Biofuels, Renewable fuel and tagged ethanol, gasoline prices. Bookmark the permalink. ← Keith Schneider: U.S. Fossil Fuel Boom Dims Glow of Clean Energy [...]

By: charles langer

charles langer — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 01:27:00 +0000

Go to fuel economy.gov and compare the cost to run flex vehicles on e85 vs gas. Brian’s numbers are right. Ethanol people will throw numbers at you that are not actual. I believe they would rather people not know the truth. Take some time compare cost to run multiple flex vehicles on e85 vs gas, these are real numbers by a non bias site. How could it be proven any better? The goverment needs to remove the mandates and allow the market to correct itself. I think we know what the out come will be. Since e85 is a choice, what percentage flex vehicles actually use e85 rather than gas? I believe it is probably less than 5%.

By: charles langer

charles langer — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 01:15:15 +0000

Fuel economy.com proves Brians point. Just choose several flex vehicles and compare the cost to run e85 vs gas. Brian’s numbers are right. Ethanol people will do anything to support their product. When university puts out these numbers that dont hold up to actual perforance it show you what their credability is. Actual performance is what should be more important. Flex vehicles average 13 mpg on e85. Remove the mandates and allow the market to correct itself.

By: charles langer

charles langer — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 21:44:43 +0000

Robert go to fueleconomy.gov and compare the cost to run a flex vehicle on E85 vs gas. 10-15% more on E85, ethanol is being sold in the red because of to much supply it’s normally 20-30% more. Brian’s numbers are very accurate and they check out with fueleconomy.gov. Ethanol needs to sell for 70% the price of gas to be break even. The only reseason for mandates is to force people to make a choice they normally would’t. People With flex vehicles have a choice and I would bet very few use E85 vs gas. Goverment needs to remove the mandates and allow the market to correct itself.