Hey Scotty, I've watched and enjoyed your videos for a few years now. I'm an Iowa farmer and do raise corn as well as other crops. A little info into the cost of ethanol; after distillation there's distillers grain left which is then used as livestock feed which a lot of cattle feeders prefer over just corn. So the ethanol is somewhat of a bonus because the expense of corn production is going to happen anyway to produce the corn for livestock feed. Of course you still have the expense of refining and transportation of the ethanol, as you do with crude oil. I'm not suggesting it's free by any means, just that it's not the only thing that comes out of a kernel of corn. Some folks think we're sacrificing human food for fuel with ethanol but the corn used is No. 2 yellow corn which is not used for human food, only livestock feed, which we still have left in DGs [distillers grain], Corn for human consumption is No. 1 white corn and popcorn. There may be others as well. The majority of corn raised in the US is "feed grade" not "food grade". It does have less BTU s than gasoline but here in Iowa it's a little less expensive than regular so at the pump it's about a wash. It is subsidized I know but so is big oil. I don't really care what you make ethanol out of, I just like any alternative to being dependent on OPEC. I'm still watching, not pissed. I just ask that you do the research so you have all the information. We get this a lot. People get bored with the details. Thanks Scotty, keep the videos coming. Buckshot
As far as I'm concerned adulterating gasoline with ethanol is just another government boondoggle with few benefits and quite a few drawbacks. It's high time that the mandate was rescinded, but lobbyists insure that it continues to be forced down the throats of motorists.
About the only benefit of ethanol laced gas is that there's no lead in the atmosphere in regard to regular gasoline at the Shell station. Avgas is still leaded for some reason. Roads are also constructed with lead-based paint, which ends up in the atmosphere. They pick and choose, and we're stuck with it.
There are other octane boosters. I remember Amaco lead-free premium gas was readily available in the 1960s. (Not sure what they used but it wasn't ethanol.)
Lead hasn't been used in car fuel since catalytic converters. Long before ethanol.
Mostly oxygenates were used (MTBE, ETBE, etc.). The amount of avgas used is tiny in comparison.
Thank you for weighing in. It's always good to hear from all sides.
Here are the things that piss me off ...
livestock feed which a lot of cattle feeders prefer over just corn
It's nice to know we're not sacrificing our ability to feed our citizens, to support this greenwashing movement. But I would hope that given the choice between growing food, and growing this junk corn, that farmers would choose the former, despite how much the government sweetens the deal. Chickens and pigs ... fine, but cattle should eat grass.
It does have less BTU s than gasoline but here in Iowa it's a little less expensive than regular so at the pump it's about a wash.
It's not a wash.
Ethanol produces 30% less energy than gasoline. By rudimentary math, E85 should cost around 25% less than regular gasoline to get your money's worth. But it doesn't. I saw no differences in price between blended and non-blended gas where I live. In fact we are paying more for fuel than ever before, and they STILL tack new environmental taxes on it every year or two. It's a scam. We are getting absolutely hosed.
On top of that, our great leaders have decided in their infinite wisdom to completely outlaw ethanol-free gasoline. Which means that I can no longer get it for my small engines, like as my chainsaw, who's manufacturer specifically states NOT to put ANY ethanol in it. So not only will I get less productivity out of the tools I need to make a living, but now I need to spend more money to have them serviced or replaced too. That means they go to the landfill quicker too. So good for the environment. Great job!
any alternative to being dependent on OPEC.
what kind of nonsense is that? USA is the worlds top oil producing country. Energy independence was trumpeted all over the news. It has been producing more than it can consume for years now.
So enjoy your subsidies. Happy for you. But I will vote against ethanol use at every opportunity I get.
Farmers deserve to be supported, but when they become just another tax arm of the government it's a problem for me. Ethanol destroys old cars and gives us less gas mileage.
Over here in the UK we're taxed (Road Tax) based on the pollution of our vehicles, then we're also taxed with fuel duty that's added to the VAT (value added tax) we also pay on cost of the fuel. But the council tax is what maintains the roads. And they don't maintain the roads.
But anyway, when they introduced 10% & 5% ethanol, I didn't see the road tax go down. So basically all it's doing is making the motorist poorer.
