The federal subsidy for ethanol production – currently $0.51 per gallon – is set to expire at the end of 2007 (1). Unless congress extends the credit (again), consumers may finally get to pay market […]
The Future of E85
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Who’s to Blame for High Gas Prices?
I just ran across this article yesterday at CNNMoney.com. The original article can be found here: Who’s to blame for high gas prices? There are a number of statements that the article makes that touch […]
Challenge to Minnesota Dept. of Agriculture’s Ethanol Claims
Disclaimer First, I want to make a little disclaimer. In this essay, I will again be discussing the energy balance of gasoline versus ethanol. I am not doing this to suggest that gasoline is a […]
Energy Balance For Ethanol Better Than For Gasoline?
Surely you have heard the claim. Proponents of ethanol will claim that it takes less fossil fuels to produce a BTU of ethanol than to produce a BTU of gasoline. Here is the claim from […]
Demand May Outpace Saudi Oil Capacity
An AP story came out today warning (again) that the Saudis will probably not be able to keep up with our oil demand . You know things are bad when the Saudis are telling us […]
Cheap Gas Is Not An Entitlement
There was a letter to the editor this week in the Billings Gazette entitled There’s no good reason for such high gas prices (1). Ironically, the letter came from Wyoming, which at the time had […]
How Reliable are Those USDA Ethanol Studies?
Introduction The pro-ethanol contingent is quick to point to certain studies published by the USDA to support the claim that the energy balance of grain-ethanol is positive. Many anti-ethanol advocates will point to studies by […]
A Primer on Gasoline Pricing
There was a story today in the Detroit Free Press on rising gasoline prices (1). Two items caught my attention: “We’ve seen a dramatic increase in gasoline prices,” said Mark Routt, a senior consultant with […]
Biodiesel: King of Alternative Fuels
OK, maybe not the king yet. But if we judge based on the merits, biodiesel is head and shoulders above ethanol. Let’s take a closer look at it. Biodiesel has a couple of huge advantages […]
Exchange with an Ethanol Advocate
I am working on a biodiesel post, but I am having an exchange with an ethanol advocate that is worth capturing here. Over at the blog 7 Deadly Sins, a number of fallacious arguments in […]