Do you think it is morally wrong to use ethanol? What is a better alternative to ethanol?

Question

I ask this because much of the ethanol we use in our vehicles comes from grains which are high in starch. The more ethanol produced, the less food is available. This results in higher food prices. This makes it harder for people living in poorer nations to afford the food they need to survive.

Answer 1

It's not morally wrong, ethanol isn't made out of the edible part of corn. However, the best solution is to get off your lazy @$$ and ride a bike/walk/take a bus to where ever you need to go.

Answer 2

The ethanol produced in Brazil comes from sugarcane, not from corn. And it is grown mainly (90%) in the southeast state of Sao Paulo. The soil in the rain forest is too poor to produce sugarcane and people destroy the forest in order to raise cattle. The "cerrado" in the middle part of the country is being replaced by soy plantations and cattle pastures. Sugarcane is not responsible for the destruction of the rain forest or cerrado.

By the way, there is a 54 cents US tax import per 1 gallon of ethanol produced in Brazil.

Answer 3

Not wrong, just inappropriate, people are tryin to make fuels from algae now.

Answer 4

The oil companies are saying and doing anything they can to make ethanol look bad.  Why?  Because they know they are in big trouble once the public becomes educated on the facts and benefits of using ethanol.

Answer 5

Only 1% of all the ethanol made in the US is used as fuel. We make HUGE amounts of ethanol for a variety of reasons in this country (much of it is used as industrial solvents). For example, Illinois is the 2nd largest producer of corn in the US. Illinois is also the largest producer of ethanol. 40% of Illinois' corn is turned into ethanol. That is a massive amount of ethanol (especially if you consider how much corn and ethanol is made in the rest of the Midwest). There are several reasons why food prices are so high. First of all, all of this stuff is harvested and transported by vehicles and machinery running on diesel fuel which costs a ton. Also, the government pays farmers NOT to grow corn to drive up the price.

Now, even if corn ethanol really did have the large impact on the food supply that many people seem to think, we are less than 10 years away from an alternative. Scientists at many of the major universities (like UC Berkley) and scientists that are working for various chemical and energy companies, along with the government, are developing cellulose ethanol. This fuel can be made from almost any organic material. You could make fuel from lawn clippings and waste wood. You could landscape your yard and use the waste to fuel you car! Not only does this technology promise to make fuel from waste, many of the materials targeted can yield very large quantities with almost no upkeep. Switchgrass requires no fertilazation, herbicides, pestacides and needs very little irrigation (if any at all). 1 acre of switchgrass can be turned into about 1000 gallons (380L) of ethanol. The same acre of corn would make 400 gallons (sugarcane-665). Additionally, cellulose ethanol can get upto a 16:1 energy return, compared to 5:1 of gasoline. That means it is 3 times more efficient than gasoline. In fact, even though cellulose ethanol is not as efficient as it can be, Range Fuels is building a 100million gallon per year cellulose ethanol production facility in Georgia (the state, not the country). Currently, the US creates about 1.3 billion dry-tons of cellulose material that would normally be waste. That has the energy equivilant to 4 billion barrels of crude oil or about 65% of our yearly energy needs total.

Answer 6

Ethanol can be made from grass trimmings, dead trees, sugar, recycled paper, and many other things.

If the problem was left up to the free market, we wouldn't have this problem.

Answer 7

no, get your fuel anyway you can get it nowadays.

Answer 8

Probably, there are better less usable things that we could use.

Answer 9

A MIRACLE

Answer 10

Ethanol's impact on food prices is minimal. The parts of the corn that are used to create fuel ARE NOT the same parts that are turned into food. The idea that putting cleaner burning renewable fuel in are car is really just shifting the cost to somewhere else is a stereotype that has been perpetuated by the oil industry. If you have been paying attention to commodity prices EVERYTHING is getting more expensive. Not just corn. And that is a direct result of higher fuel prices. The same exact thing happened the last time there was an oil crisis. Except back then there was no big bad ethanol for the oil companies to place the blame on.

Corn based ethanol isn't very efficient, but it's better than nothing. Right now it accounts for ~10% of our fuel usage, and if we didn't have it gasoline supplies would be much much tighter and gas would be much more expensive. Also there are other methods of producing ethanol that are many times more efficient than what we have now.

The oil companies want us to think that ethanol is an evil problematic fuel, and they've been very successful at doing just that.

Answer 11

Yes it is wrong, a better alternative is gasoline.

Answer 12

We have the three best energy sources at our disposal for FREE: the sun, the wind, and water. Thats all we ever needed and it's all we ever will. But there are those out there who don't want you to know that, like corporate industry and the governments who thrive from those industries. It's time to put a stop to that, by ANY means neccessary.

Answer 13

According to the UN Food & Agriculture Organisation, the top three corn producing contries are the U.S., China, and Brazil respectively.  Corn depletes nutrients in the soil very rapidly, so the fields either must be allowed to lie fallow or planted with legumes to return the soil to its original fertility.  This alone makes it an issue to produce enough corn to be of much use.  Also, the entire process of extracting ethanol from the corn actually requires more energy than the amount of ethanol can produce.  In Brazil, to make room for farmland, rainforests are being removed, which in itself is not a terribly environmental act.  Then when you consider the transportation of corn from these fairly remote fields to refineries and the eight of corn needed to produce energy equal to that of oil, you end up spending far more, putting out far more greenhouse gasses, and destroying far more "nature" than drilling for oil with proper regulations.

If you get into the price argument, there is even more trouble.  China has millions of starving or barely fed people, meaning they have NO room to create ethanol.  The entire conversion of corn to ethanol is definitely not a savings, and in the end, won't slow this global warming (FAR more affected by sun cycles than greenhouse gasses) than oil, solar, wind, or other alternative energies.

Answer 14

What is a better alternative than ethanol--- how about regular gasoline without this wasteful additive.

Answer 15

The thing about this miracle ethanol is it is worse for engines it lowers fuel economy as well as the food issue. The best alternative is focus on more public transportation and more bikes and other human powered vehicles and while that is going on work on driving less and sharing cars more. When you ride ALONE you ride with Hitler!

http://www.heise.de/tp/r4/artikel/13/139...

Answer 16

Not so long ago, there was such a surplus of produce, farmers were being paid by the government not to grow anything.  I don't think the situation has changed that much.  The reason for higher food prices has nothing to do with using ethanol as fuel; it's because conventional fuels have gotten so expensive it costs more to deliver the produce.

I'd say I-Love-GM hit the nail on the head.  The oil companies don't want the competition, so they're spreading this propaganda saying that ethanol is evil.

Answer 17

No, its not morally wrong. Ethanol doesn't have to come from grain. It should be collected from grass. I think a hybrid using solar cells might be a good alternative. The more variety the better off you are.

Answer 18

It is not morally wrong but it is inefficient, impractical and creates lower gas mileage. The higher food prices have also had the positive by-product of helping poorer nations that are mainly agricultural.

Answer 19

I think its morally wrong for producers to use so much corn in everything we eat.It is high carbon food,it causes Cancer in Rats and Mice.I believe its the source of so much cancer.

Ethonal Corn is unfit to eat or feed Cattle.Did you know our government already pays farmers not to grow.Each year millions of gallons milk is dumped on the ground,tons of potatoes burned,corn too.

Germans made ethonal out of potatoes.

Answer 20

I don't think it's morally wrong to use ethanol from scrap organic material such as food scraps, sugar cane, garden rubbish, etc. But when they make it out of grain, yes. I think cars should run on electricity, sourced from solar energy, from solar panels somewhere on the car. Not sure where though - maybe the roof.

Answer 21

Sorry, but you are falling victim to the lies of the oil companies.  Get the facts.  Not one person in human history has ever starved as a result of using ethanol as a fuel.  Brazil has been using it for 30 years and has never had 1 documented case of human suffering due to food shortages caused by ethanol.  1/3 of all corn grown in the US is exported to other countries to feed them.  This is AFTER we meet all of our food and ethanol needs. Growing demand for ethanol is leading to world record corn planting and output, increasing the supply of food.  And food corn is not used to make ethanol.  Feed corn is used.  The distiller's grain leftover after ethanol is made from feed corn is utilized to feed farm animals.

Myth---Ethanol production wastes corn that could be used to feed a hungry world.

Corn used for ethanol production is field corn typically used to feed livestock. Wet mill ethanol production facilities, also known as corn refineries, also produce starch, corn sweeteners, and corn oil — all products that are used as food ingredients for human consumption. Ethanol production also results in the production of distiller’s grains and gluten feed — both of which are fed to livestock, helping produce high-quality meat products for distribution domestically and abroad. There is no shortage of corn. In 2004, U.S. farmers produced a record 11.8 billion bushel corn harvest — and some 1.3 billion bushels (about 11 percent) were used in ethanol production. Additionally, the 2005 crop was among the largest on record. 2007 will yield the largest corn crop since the 1940s. In other words, there is still room to significantly grow the ethanol market without limiting the availability of corn. Steadily increasing corn yields and the improved ability of other nations to grow corn also make it clear that ethanol production can continue to grow without affecting the food supply.

Myth--- Won't E85 production deplete human and animal food supplies?

No, actually the production of ethanol from corn uses only the starch of the corn kernel, all of the valuable protein, minerals and nutrients remain. One bushel of corn produces about 2.7 gallons of ethanol AND 11.4 pounds of gluten feed (20% protein) AND 3 pounds of gluten meal (60% protein) AND 1.6 pounds of corn oil.

If truth is the first casualty of war, it appears the “food fight” being waged by anti-ethanol interests has nearly achieved its first casualty. The false idea that ethanol production is causing high food prices, and even food shortages around the world, has been so frequently asserted that Americans have begun to blindly accept the premise. However, when the facts are examined it is clear the accusations are untrue. Let’s examine several of the myths about ethanol:

Myth 1: Ethanol is made from “food grains.”

Fact: Ethanol is made from “feed grains” such as corn and sorghum. “Food grains” usually refers to wheat and rice. Blaming ethanol for wheat and rice shortages is unfounded. The type of corn used to produce ethanol is otherwise used primarily for livestock feed (about 90 percent); not for human consumption.

Myth 2: Ethanol “consumes” a huge share of U.S. corn production.

Fact: In 2006, U.S. farmers produced 10.74 billion bushels of corn and 1.8 billion bushels went to produce ethanol. The share going to ethanol is increasing.

However, making ethanol does not “consume” the corn. Ethanol production separates the starch from the other components. The protein and other nutrients remain, but in a less bulky form. One-third of the corn is converted to a high value livestock feed called distillers grain (by dry milling) or corn gluten feed (by wet milling).

Myth 3: Use of corn for ethanol production is creating food shortages and causing starvation around the world.

Fact: The U.S. is exporting more corn today than at any time in history. Exports in 2007-08 were 2.25 billion bushels, 6 percent more than in 2006-07. The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently raised its corn export estimates to 2.5 billion bushels. This puts corn exports at 63 million metric tons, a new record.

Myth 4: Ethanol is responsible for high food prices.

Fact: The price of corn is a very small factor in overall food prices. Only about 10 percent of U.S. corn is processed directly into human food products (such as corn syrup, starch and cereals). In contrast, the price of oil has a significant impact on food prices, as does the value of the dollar. Some analysts have estimated that oil prices would be 15 percent higher but for ethanol production and its replacement of large quantities of petroleum.

Ethanol currently supplies the same amount of fuel to Americans as our fifth-largest foreign supplier. Without it, gas prices (and food prices) would be even higher.

Less than 20 cents of each food dollar goes toward on-farm costs like grain. The value of the corn in an 18-ounce box of corn flakes cereal was 4.9 cents in 2007 (with corn at $3.40 a bushel). Today, with corn at nearly $6 a bushel, the value of the corn in a box of corn flakes is about 8.75 cents. So, even in a pure corn product, the impact on consumers is modest.

America needs ethanol now, more than ever. The U.S. imports 62 percent of its petroleum supply and this is projected to increase to 77 percent by 2025. The last time a new oil refinery was built in the United States was more than 30 years ago.

Taxpayers spend billions each year on military expenditures to protect our foreign oil supply while Congress refuses to expand domestic drilling for environmental reasons. In contrast, ethanol is made from renewable resources we grow right here in the United States. Its use reduces our dependence on imported oil. The U.S. ethanol industry will have the capacity to produce 10 billion gallons in 2008.

The idea that people must choose between food and ethanol is a false and dangerous premise. The next time you hear or read that ethanol production is starving children overseas or causing food prices to soar, consider the all-time record amounts of corn being exported from the United States — and think again.

Answer 22

While i don't think that it is morally wrong to use ethanol, the biggest reason of the high cost of food right now is not because ethanol is being used to make ethanol the the outrageous price of fuel to transport it.

In the United States we waste more food than is being used for the production of ethanol.But a better alternative is Electricity, I plan to be driving an electric car this time next year, since I am retired, and living on a fixed income, i cannot afford to buy one, so I will convert one that I can afford.

also while many of us cannot afford to go solar or wind generation for all of  our electric needs we can afford to do a little, if everyone would put us just one solar panel instead of waiting to put in a full system, we could alleviate the energy shortage.