The Ethanol Papers - Paperturn manuscript - Flipbook - Page 69
Ironically, most of the lies are the direct opposite of the actual truths. For example, the most common lies told about ethanol are:
· Ethanol damages engines
· Ethanol produces less power than gasoline
· America can’t produce enough ethanol to replace gasoline
The most pernicious misconceptions ascribed to ethanol are:
• Using corn for ethanol causes food prices to rise and takes food away
from the world's starving peoples
• Ethanol is environmentally harmful
• It takes more energy to produce a gallon of ethanol than the gallon of
ethanol puts out
• Ethanol gets unfair, wasteful government subsidies
But the truth is that:
• Alcohol cleans engines, and they burn cooler. An engine that uses ethanol can last two or more times longer than an engine that uses gasoline.
• Alcohol fuel is used in race cars that want to get greater power and
performance. In an engine that is optimized to run on gasoline, it is natural
to expect that any other fuel might not perform as well. However, if the
same engine is then optimized to use alcohol it will perform as well or
better.
• If 100% of all corn grown in America were used to make ethanol, then
we could produce enough ethanol to replace all gasoline…and we would
still be able to get the DDG for needed feedstock. Backyard barbecuers
and corn flakes cereal addicts might suffer, but that’s all. In reality, other
crops would feature in the mix, some that don’t require existing crops or
farmland and very little water. The alcohol yield from these plants is significantly higher than corn. Seaweed harvested from the Gulf of Mexico
alone could provide all the ethanol needed to replace gasoline in America.
• The food-for-fuel argument is completely false. It has been debunked
from every angle and the World Bank has retracted its original accusation
that corn used for ethanol caused food price increases and food shortage.
