The Ethanol Papers - Paperturn manuscript - Flipbook - Page 275
2. By using domestically produced ethanol it helps to make us independent
from the oil industry. Even domestic gasoline is controlled by OPEC in
terms of availability and pricing. Using less gasoline, regardless of where
it is produced, hurts foreign oil producers.
3. Ethanol is significantly cleaner burning. This helps with clean air and water. You'll notice I'm not referring to so-called man-made climate change,
I'm simply referring to having clean air and safer water supplies.
Regarding your 2002 Toyota Sienna: I have a non-flex fuel 2002 Ford Taurus.
I use various blend levels of ethanol-gasoline, including E85. My car seems to
run best at about a E30 to E40 level, which I achieve by 'splash-blending' my
own mix (I pull up to an E85 pump and then to an E10 pump). The reason my
car works better at E30-E40 than E85 is because the car's computer doesn't
know how to handle the E85. But this is not an issue of lower "energy content,"
it's an issue of the car not knowing the proper air mixture (along with not knowing how to adjust timing and piston stroke length) necessary to run on E85.
If you have never tried anything higher than E10 in your Sienna, pump in one
gallon of E85 the next time you fill up. See what happens. Most likely you'll not
notice anything different. The next time try two gallons of E85, and so on until
you experience a change in performance or MPG levels that you're unhappy
with. You may never be unhappy, or you may find that a mid-range blend works
fine, save you a little money, and gives you satisfaction that you're doing something to help defeat terrorists and make America energy independent.
It is within all of this that explains why I like ethanol. I can put it best by saying:
I'd rather have my fuel money go to American farmers than to terrorists and
foreign regimes that hate us.
If you have any further questions or comments please let me hear from you.
