Question:

Ethanol for fuel?

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I'm writting a perusasive speech for my english class and I'm on the con side of ethanol. I got most of my points cover, but i need a counter against my position (which is saying that ethanol is bad).

All I need is for you guys to give me the best reason why the world should use ethanol instead of oil. please leave out anything that concern politics, brazil, or energy output.

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13 ANSWERS


  1. It actually doesn't make any difference . If u use it for fuel compared to oil it will produce  about the same amount of CO2.


  2. Ethanol is a cleaner gas to burn. But it burns twice as fast as regular gas. The only other disadvantage is it takes a lot of corn to make it. That causes the price of corn to go up. Grain as well.

  3. Ethanol is not a conserving fuel. It burns more the double the rate as gasoline. Therefore using more. Also, the by product from the pipe is formaldahyde. MMMM yummy.

  4. the most Environmentally destructive idea ever

    which can lead to famine

    http://byderule.multiply.com/journal/ite...

    as well as adding to global warming

  5. OIL WILL SOON RUN OUT AND THEN WE WONT HAVE A CHOICE

  6. Start with these. Also you have to remember that it casts more to produce a gallon of ethanol than it does for a gallon of Gasoline.

  7. it takes far more energy to produce ethanol than it does gasoline and yet ethanol only yields about half the energy.

    gasoline is the fuel that is most green. the problem is not supply there is plenty of oil to drill, the problem is eco-regulation. it drives up fuel cost which drives up the cost of everything else. the price of food is getting a double whammy right now because its more expensive to produce and transport (takes fuel) and some of the vegetable supply is being used to make ethanol(reducedsupply).

    EDIT: the only way to get enough ethanol to make a real contribution to the fuel supply is to use corn, there is just not enough of anything else. algea produces less ethanol per unit energy than corn. beats or cane would be better than algea. but production is still more energy intensive than corn.

    ethanol is a good solvent, antiseptic or party favor. it makes an ok coolant or preservative. it can even be used as an anesthetic if you're in a bind.........as a fuel it is worse than gas in every way includeing pollution

  8. Algae Biofuel/Ethanol- it's cheap

    -With our current biodiesel feedstocks, like soy and palm, there’s no way we could grow enough to supply all of our transportation needs.  In fact, it would actually require twice the land area of the US devoted to soybean production to meet current heating and transportation needs.

    -Algae, on the other hand, could supply all U.S. diesel power using a mere 0.2% of the nation’s land.

    -Enough algae can be grown to replace all transportation fuels in the U.S. on only 15,000 square miles or 4.5 million acres of land.

    - Algae is the highest yielding feedstock for biodiesel, producing 24 times more oil per acre, on average, than the next leading feedstock--palm oil at 635 gallons/acre/year.

    -One company can produce 180,000 gallons of biodiesel every year from just one acre of algae. That comes to about 4,000 barrels, at a cost of $25 per barrel or $.59 per gallon.

    -To put that in perspective, it takes 3,750 acres of soy to make the same amount of biodiesel at a cost of about $2.50 per barrel for 4,000 barrels.

    -It is possible to use human sewage and wastewater from agricultural endeavors to enhance the growth of algae.  In fact, when done right, algae can double and even triple overnight with the addition of these fertilizers.

    -Plus, as algae grows it absorbs C02 from the air.

    -In addition, fertilizer for other food crops can be produced by using the leftover nutrients that aren’t used to make the biofuel.

  9. Environmentalists, livestock farmers,  say that increased ethanol production won't meet energy goals and may damage the environment, while at the same time causing worldwide food prices to soar.

    as ethanol is more widely used, changing irrigation practices could greatly increase pressure on water resources

    Associated Press article stated, "The widespread use of ethanol from corn could result in nearly twice the greenhouse gas emissions as the gasoline it would replace because of expected land-use changes, researchers concluded

  10. Actually, corn ethanol is the least efficient way of making it that there is. The most practical systems are still under investigation, but will probably be either algae based or use anaerobic cellulose digestion.

  11. when oils gone we will have no choice left so why not get an early start on the ethonal band wagon (there that should work)

  12. ETHONAL IS THE WORST THING TO EVER HAPPEN IT HAS CAUSED ECONOMIC DAMAGE.  IT IS DRIVING UP THE FOOD PRICES BECAUSE A LOT OF FOODS ARE CORN BASED.  NOW FARMERS ARE GROWING MORE CORN FOR ETHENAL THAN ANY OTHER CROPS.  ALSO INDIRECTLY IT IS USING OIL BECAUSE THEY HAVE TO COOK IT AND IT IS BAD ON CAR ENGINES.  WHY CAN'T THEY JUST DRILL IN THE US BECAUSE THERE IS A WHOLE OTHER SAUDI ARABIA UNDER THERE.  OR IS PROTECTED BY ENVIRONMENTALISTS.  IT IS BEING FORCED ON US AND IS VERY IMPRACTICAL.  AS MY DAD SAYS ETHONAL IS FOR DRINKING NOT FOR BURNING.

    AND ANY WAY WHY ARE WE WORRIED ABOUT "GLOBAL WARMING" IT IS A FARCE IN FACT THE IN THE PAST YEARS THE GLOBAL TEMP. HAS DROPPED.  AND IF THE EARTH IS WARMING THAT MIGHT NOT BE THAT BAD I LIKE IT WARM.  I LIVE IN WISCONSIN.  THE POLAR BEARS WILL ADAPT JUST LIKE THEY ADAPTED TO THEIR CURRENT CLIMATE.

  13. turingsc  has a good answer.

    True, corn based ethanol is not such a hot idea.

    It is promoted more by big industry than by environmentalists, who mostly see it's negatives

    Algae based or cellulose based biofuels may be better ideas.

    If nothing else, it would lessen our dependence on imported oil.

    Plants could be the source of both bioplastics and biofuels, thereby getting more benefit from the same plants.  The plastics can be made, and still have feedstock for biofuels from what remains.  And food crops don't need to be used.  Non food crops like switchgrass are good candidates.

    See what Metabolix is doing with both bioplastics and biofuel.

    We use 5-10% of our oil to make plastics, which are a huge pollution problem.  Bioplastics can be compostable, and completely biodegradable.
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