clare at snyder.on.ca wrote in message
...
On Mon, 02 Jan 2006 17:49:36 -0800, Robert Sturgeon
wrote:



If you are going to include the solar input on Ethyl, what about the
solar input on Petro??? It comes from "green stuff" too, ultimately.

Sorry, logic is not allowed in this argument.

That's not the only place the scales are not balanced. They also include the
fuel cost to transport the corn to refineries, refine it, and distribute it,
but they don't do the same for petroleum.

If you look at dollars, it is still cheaper to use oil. If you look at the
btu cost (excluding the solar to grow the corn), corn may come out on top.

In the future, ethanol may be competitive with petroleum at the market place
even without the subsidies that it sees. Cellulous refining techniques are
helping that, but the rising cost of petroleum is having more effect.
Unfortunately, ethanol is probably not a long term solution. We simply don't
have enough crop land to supply our energy needs. There is also considerable
research in using algae grown at sea. Perhaps this will be our next great
energy source.