Why do people say ethanol will conserve energy?

Question

Are people saying it will conserve energy, or fossil fuels, or both? If so, how?

Answer 1

because you can get ethanol from plants. we can grow plants so its renewable unlike fossil fuels.

however using plants as fuel could make prices for food go up and cause a food shortage....in which we are seeing right now(but it COULD be coincidence)

also without proper farming techniques farming so much crops(for food and fuel) can strip the earth of its nutrients then we won't be able to grow anything for a while

"Filling up SUV fuel tank one time with 100% ethanol uses enough corn to feed one person for a year."

Answer 2

Ethanol contains 35% less energy than gasoline.

It takes more energy to make ethanol than it contains.

Ethanol is a complete joke!!!!

Ethanol puts out more co2 gases than gasoline

The governement subsides ethanol by a $1.38 a gallon

I could go on for hours.

Ethanol is not renewable as advertised.  it take a ton of fossil fuel and coal and natural gas to make ethanol.

It must be shipped by truck or train.  It can not go down the pipelines like gas and oil.

http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=...

http://ostseis.anl.gov/guide/oilshale/in...

http://petroleum.berkeley.edu/papers/pat...

http://www.slate.com/id/2122961/

The ethanol subsidy is worse than you can imagine.

By Robert Bryce

Posted Tuesday, July 19, 2005, at 8:12 AM ET

http://www.oilcrash.com/articles/pf_bio....

A must read

http://money.cnn.com/2008/02/27/magazine...

These will get you off to a good start