Cellulosic ethanol: A fuel for the future?

TalkBack 7 of 15:

Next »

« Previous

• Thread View
• Flat View

Many are missing the larger point I believe

The practical and strategic importance of ethanol is greater

than its environmental importance at the moment, in my opinion.



The United States must eliminate its dependency on any vital product or natural resource that is imported from the Middle-East due to the volatile political nature of that region.



With a fully-committed, moon-landing type program initiated in
the USA regarding cellulosic ethanol production we could

be producing a significant percentage of our vehicle fuel

requirements within ten to fifteen years. That would greatly
reduce our need to purchase natural resources, or much of
anything really from the Middle East. They don't sell us much

aside from an extraordinary amount of oil anyway so we could
distance ourselves from the entire region economically and
politically by switching to mass domestic production of ethanol.

We would maintain diplomatic relations with the Middle Eastern

countries of course but we wouldn't have life and death
strategic interests in the region. That in turn would greatly

reduce the need, or the excuse for the United States to
interfere with and intervene in Middle Eastern squabbles and
politics in general.



israel would either learn to live with its neighbors, or conquer

them, or be conquered, or some variation on all those
possibilities could occur. I am an American and I am concerned

with America first. Middle Eastern politics and the arguments

contries in the region have amongst themselves do not interest

me nor should they concern any American. The Middle East is

half-way round the world. I would not like to see the nations in

the region go to war but if it's destined to happen then leave

the United States out of it. An important and expedient step
toward positioning the United States to stay out of any
localized conflict would be to develop a domestic source of
vehicle fuel. That, in conjunction with a mandatory fuel-

efficiency improvement in American motor vehicles would
drastically reduce the amount of petroleum consumption in the

USA. In addition, Brasil is an huge producer and exporter of
ethanol. Any shortfalls in American production could be made up

with imports from Brasil, a far more friendly and less
politically troubled and troublesome trading partner than are

the Middle Eastern states.



Eventually the internal combustion engine probably will be
phased out. But that is an enormous change in direction for the

United States and the USA never changes direction quickly. So an

intermediary step would be to make a concerted effort to
maximize ethanol production in the USA, which greatly reduces

Middle East oil imports. Ethanol is similar or superior to
gasoline in most properties and we can produce it ourselves
virtually forever. What we cannot produce ourselves we can buy

from friendlier nations that require less courting and
diplomatic attention than the Middle Eastern states. Ethanol
would serve as a sort of "auxiliary power" source that is
compatible with existing wheeled-vehicle infrastructure. It's a

liquid fuel just like gasoline. To fuel and run cars with
ethanol requires only minor engineering changes to existing
automobile engine and fuel system design. Re-fueling facilities

across the United States are built to receive and dispense
liquid fuel so there would be little if any change required in

the "gas station business" and motor fuel delivery sectors of

the economy.



In my opinion the number one priority for the United States is

to eliminate petroleum imports from the Middle East -- and the

reasons for that are strategic and geopolitical. Mass ethanol

production in the USA is a giant step toward motor vehicle fuel

self-sufficency and substituting ethanol for gasoline would not

involve major changes in the current wheeled-vehicle
infrastructure. Since cellulosic ethanol production is a proven

technology and I would strongly suggest that it should be
pursued and improved with a space program type commitment.



Regards,



Jonny V

Posted by: Jonny Verdorben   Posted on: 10/28/07 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

Alert moderator to an offensive message

Subscribe to this discussion via Email or RSS

SponsoredWhite Papers, Webcasts, and Downloads

• Three Steps You Need to Know to Stop Data Loss Varonis Sensitive data exposed to misuse or loss... it is the stuff of nightmares ... Download Now
• Reducing Server Total Cost of Ownership with VMware Virtualization Software VMware VMware virtualization enables customers to reduce their server TCO and ... Download Now
• Server Consolidation and Containment With Virtual Infrastructure VMware To meet the constant demand to deploy, maintain and grow a broad array of ... Download Now