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Ethanol More Trouble Than It's Worth?

Posted by Hemos on from the and-don't-even-get-me-start-on-methanol-young-man dept.

call -151 writes "Yahoo reports this story by researchers from Cornell and Berkeley who show what a number of people had suspected- it takes significantly more energy (at least 29%) more energy to produce ethanol than it yields. Since ethanol production plants don't use ethanol themselves for their own energy needs (with presumably negible delivery costs) this has been widely suspected but not so bluntly stated: "Ethanol production in the United States does not benefit the nation's energy security, its agriculture, the economy, or the environment." Ethanol producers dispute the study, predictably, which deducts the multi-billion US dollar subsidy. It's not clear how this compares with this earlier Union of Concerned Scientists article that claims that the yield from corn kernels is net 50% positive- and the UCS is usually quite unbiased on these things."

6 of 986 comments (clear)

  1. Ethanol not worth it! by DanielMarkham · · Score: 5, Funny

    Surely you jest, man. Ethanol is most certainly a worthwhile endeavor. How else would ulgy people...

    Oh. You mean Ethanol energy production. Yes. Of course.

    Plastic Rabbit, New Gizmo?

    1. Re:Ethanol not worth it! by suitepotato · · Score: 3, Funny

      Why are so many obviously comedic posts getting modded insightful instead of funny lately?

      --
      If my grammar and spelling are off, I am [distracted/tired/careless] (take your pick)
    2. Re:Ethanol not worth it! by AKAImBatman · · Score: 5, Funny

      Why are so many obviously comedic posts getting modded insightful instead of funny lately?

      Because the mods wish to reward the poster with a real mod-point that counts toward their score instead of the pseudo mod-point "funny". The problem with this scheme is that it tends to confuse the /. readers who are just skimming the posts, and it tends to send mod points to people who don't really need them anyway. If I make a joke (which, granted, I'm not the best at doing) I'm always happiest if the mods use the Funny mod instead of the Insightful mod.

      I really do applaud the intentions of the mods, but this is one of those cases where you shouldn't try to game the system. :-)

      --
      Javascript + Nintendo DSi = DSiCade
  2. Re:Duh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    Umm... beer?

    To be blunt, when I drink beer on a Friday evening, the amount of energy that comes out is waay more than goes in. As for fusion reactors and hydrogen/sodium tomfoolery? They have no place in my nights out thanks very much!

  3. Re:Looking at the wrong numbers. by ryanvm · · Score: 3, Funny

    The real question is, how much energy production do you get back out of pork?

    Ha fool! You've obviously never seen the swine-powered running wheel that keeps my house off the grid.

  4. Better Use of Ethanol by Fujisawa+Sensei · · Score: 3, Funny

    I can think of much a better use of Ethanol than powering cars.

    It even saves me gas, cuz I'm not driving, and sometimes I'm not driving the next morning either.

    --
    If someone is passing you on the right, you are an asshole for driving in the wrong lane.