Iola High School
Iola, Kansas
Teacher: Loretta Arnold
Ethanol Domination
By Luke Snavely
12th Grade
Suppose one is on a road trip – driving along – everything is fine. Then, out of nowhere, the tank is pointing to the big “E.” Most people would just pull into the next filling station and load up their tank full of gasoline. But what if there was more than one option? What if more choices were offered?
As American citizens, we love variety. One can only drive a half mile through a city and see up to ten different restaurants to fill up our big bellies. How convenient! But what if there was an alternative…when we want to fill up our big tanks? Even better: what if our choices were even cheaper and, better yet, renewable?
Ethanol has been around for a longer time than most people give it credit. Henry Ford’s Model T’s ran on ethanol. If those rusty, old junkers ran on it, than surely all of our luxurious, muscled-up cars and trucks of today can handle it, too. General Motors has actually already been making vehicles that can run on both ethanol and gasoline, including the Chevy Avalanche. Each vehicle that can run on ethanol or ethanol blends has the special “yellow gas cap,” which means that it is E85-ready. The transition from gasoline vehicles to ethanol and ethanol blends has been a smooth progression. Not much would be needed in order to promote this already trend in the business.
Besides, the advantages it brings over rival fuels are next to none. Although some believe that hydrogen is the absolute alternative to oil, transferring to it would mean a couple trillion dollars lost and only a very small gain of a few gas stations and new cars. In the long run, ethanol makes much more sense. E85 is a mixture of eighty-five percent ethanol and fifteen percent gasoline. Even though ethanol is slightly worse than gasoline on miles per gallon and it may be a little more corrosive too, building a vehicle that can handle E85 only costs about two hundred dollars added onto the original cost of the vehicle – now that’s a lot nicer than having to create and manufacturer a whole new series of vehicles and filling stations that can handle hydrogen! The disadvantages are minimal compared to the long range savings.
The economical savings that this move may cause is unlimited. [We] would no longer be dependent upon foreign countries, as we would be able to produce our own energy, our own fuel. Farmers across this great land of ours would thrive with industry. More jobs would open up. More ethanol plants would be built – energy plants that are better and environmentally friendlier than the old pollutant oil refineries.
Brazil wasn’t one to let all that knowledge sit around. E85 is ready for sale at almost all of Brazil’s thirty-four thousand pump stations. Only five hundred and eighty-seven out of seventeen hundred thousand filling stations in America sell E85. Forty percent of the fuel used in Brazil is ethanol. [Brazil is] also able to make ethanol from resources found in its own country, including corn stocks, sugar cane, switch grass, and wood chips. Because of this, extra energy is used for electricity. Best of all, consumers choose to use ethanol rather than being forced to buy it, which proves ethanol’s worth. If this method has already been tried as true, why challenge it further in America? The advantages shown in Brazil can be the same advantages in America as well.
Recently, America passed the 2005 Energy Policy Act which involves lowering the costs and usage of all sorts of energy. When comparing the pros and cons of ethanol to other rival fuels (hydroelectricity, bio-diesel fuel, wind power, solar energy, and, of course, petroleum sources), ethanol seems to be the choice of intelligence. Ethanol is renewable; oil is not. The 2005 Energy Policy Act enables ethanol to solve the problem of the possible future oil shortage and high gas and energy prices. Hopefully, by passing this act, America will realize that ethanol is the real deal. Maybe in the future, ethanol will be pumped at every gas station. Although America might not wake up the next morning and find all of the filling stations selling ethanol, one major economy, Brazil, already has. With Brazil’s success in piloting the program for others, soon other countries will follow to widen the scope of success world wide. Soon ethanol will take over the world, one country at a time. America is next on its list, thanks to the 2005 Energy Act.
Resource:
Lashinsky, Adam, and Nelson D. Schwartz. "How to Beat the High Cost of Gasoline. Forever!" Fortune Magazine. 6 Feb. 2006: 75-8, 80-1, 87. (Very Informative).
Answers to the Required
Reading
Questions
Q1- Gassahol is a byproduct exclusively from _________ and _________ whereas cellulosic ethanol can be produced from agricultural waste such as ___________, ___________ and ____________.
A1 - Gassahol is a byproduct from ethanol a gasoline; produced from corn stalks, grasses, and tree bark.
Q2- Why did auto makers produce cars that could operate using ethanol as well as gasoline before there was an adequate number of service stations that could provide ethanol?
A2 - They produced cars before stations, because they wanted a break from fuel-economy standards.
Q3- When were the first cars produced that were capable of using ethanol?
A3 - The Model T was the first care to used ethanol.
Q4- In a paragraph, describe Brazil’s experience with ethanol. What did the Fortune article claim was Brazil’s key to success?
A4 - Brazil is perfect for growing sugarcane, which is the most energy rich feedstock known. Forty percent of the fuel used in Brazil is ethanol. They also are able to use fuel from their own country because of this. Extra energy is used for electricity. Consumers are choosing ethanol rather than being forced to buy it.
Q5- What is the significance of a yellow gas cap?
A5 - They show that the vehicles are flex-fuel.
Q6 - Describe bio-diesel.
A6 - Bio-diesel is a renewable fuel, made from alcohol, oils, fats or greases (Glycerin has been removed). It also significantly decreases harmful emissions.
Q7 - Explain the term “flex-fuel engine.” What American auto manufacturer introduced the first prototype of a flex-fuel engine?
A7 - Flex-fuel engines are identical to gasoline-only engines with miner adjustments for the use of ethanol.
Q8 - Trace the progress of H.R. 6 for viewers to our web site. (dates introduced, amended, pass or rejected) .
A8 - The bill was introduced July 28,2005; passed in the House November 16; passed in the Senate December 22.
Q9 - What is the purpose of the fuel hybrid vehicle commercialization initiative?
A9 - To improve technologies for the community of hybrid, flex-fuel vehicles.
Q10 - What is the nation’s largest renewable energy resource?
A10 - Hydro-electricity.
Q11 - What is the purpose of the Hydrogen Fuel Initiative?
A11 - To develop the technology to produce, store, and distribute hydrogen for the use in fuel-cell vehicles.
Q12 - ADVANCE \d 5List seven items mentioned in the 2005 energy tax bill that taxpayers can claim as credits against their tax bills.
A12 –
1. For the construction of energy-efficient offices and homes.
2.
Equaling the cost of energy efficient equipment, if it reduces energy
consumption by 50%.
3. For the contractors of new efficient homes if the home saves 50% or more
over 2003.
4. For the purchase of solar equipment.
5. For the purchase of water heaters, heat pumps, air conditioners, furnaces w/ certain efficiency levels.
6. For manufacturers who produce highly energy-efficient dishwashers, washers, and refrigerators.
7. For
the purchase of solar, photo voltaic and fuel cell properties for use in
residences.