15%!!!!

[vanzen]

Whine about it or deal with it !
Alcohol at 100% is a viable fuel –
Change the (alcohol) corrosive materials and (if necessary) jet sizes in a Bing to get your ass down the road.
This is neither rocket science nor a hurdle that is insurmountable.
Get your sh!t right to work with whatever fuel is available.
This will be a simpler solution than attempting to change the socio / political machine.

Eat the grain or burn the grain as fuel, but f#ck the beef industry !
Feeding cows is a travesty of (cost) efficiency –

[robtg]

Whine about it or deal with it !
Alcohol at 100% is a viable fuel –
Change the (alcohol) corrosive materials and (if necessary) jet sizes in a Bing to get your ass down the road.
This is neither rocket science nor a hurdle that is insurmountable.
Get your sh!t right to work with whatever fuel is available.
This will be a simpler solution than attempting to change the socio / political machine.

Eat the grain or burn the grain as fuel, but f#ck the beef industry !
Feeding cows is a travesty of (cost) efficiency –

I agree, a few people on old motorcycles complaining about the available fuel is not going
to make a difference. Get used to it and make do. In the U.S. we have cheap gas and food
compared to many countries, time to quit complaining and deal with it.

[vespajg]

The argument regarding the diversion of corn from food production is a red herring.

[Major Softie]

The argument regarding the diversion of corn from food production is a red herring.

Not to food prices, it isn't. And, any real impact on the amount of food available is only a red herring until it isn't. The more acreage we shift, the more impact it has. Since we don't have enough acreage to actually provide all our fuel needs even if we stopped growing food, obviously there is a point where it can be a genuine problem.

[vespajg]

Have to disagree with you there, MS, as much as I wish I didn't have to...sure, there is a theoretical point where growing corn for fuel could offset food production to the point where it creates an issue. However, there are a few things to consider. First, corn is an interim technology and will be replaced as the main feed stock for ethanol production. Advances in technology are always subsidized in order to make them viable - it's the first step in making a meaningful change. The investment in technology to bring on the other feed stocks that are in development is necessary. If you cut off the subsidy, the work will simply never get done. Second, many people that cried wolf on the food issue have retreated from that viewpoint to the point where it is not really a discussion point at the real negotiation table; however, it does get a lot of traction in the media. Ethanol won't provide the answer, but the answer will definitely not come in a single package. Rather, it will be a suite of technological improvements and developments in existing and new technologies that help us out of this mess. Alternative fuels are really only interim technologies until more, better, faster, cheaper AND more efficient ones come along.

For now, though, I'll continue enjoying my /5.

[Major Softie]

Ethanol won't provide the answer, but the answer will definitely not come in a single package. Rather, it will be a suite of technological improvements and developments in existing and new technologies that help us out of this mess. Alternative fuels are really only interim technologies until more, better, faster, cheaper AND more efficient ones come along.

I hope you're wrong there. The suite of improvements are certainly an interim solution, but it is entirely possible that there could be a technological energy solution that could be as revolutionary as our switch from wood and coal fired vehicles to oil and natural gas. One never knows what the next revolutionary discovery will be, so we can only hope that it will be that powerful.

[vespajg]

I'm skeptical that we'll see something of that magnitude in my lifetime, but then again, not too long ago who would have thunk I'd be typing this reply on my telephone!! I spend quite a bit of time in the "energy" space and there are some really cool things happening these days...

[George Ryals]

Alcohol is a viable fuel, Vanzen. However, it costs more per gallon than gasoline and takes about twice as much by volumne to do the sam woek as gasoline. Instead of getting 40+mpg on gasoline we'll be getting maybe 20-22 mpg on alcohol.