Ethanol vs. fossil fuels

The use of ethanol as an alternative to fossil fuels could greatly reduce pollution. This fuel burns cleaner, is easily replenished, and comes right from American soil, making it less expensive for the consumer. U. S. consumers use more than 30 billion gallons of high performance, cleaner burning ethanol-blended gasoline each year. Ethanol increases oxygenate supplies, reducing the need for MTBE imports and helping to reduce consumer costs. Ethanol is a high-octane blending component used by many gasoline marketers -- helping to keep this important class of trade viable, and creating competition for the major oil companies. Since the petroleum refining industry is running at near capacity, the ethanol industry helps extend our petroleum supply. Thereby, ethanol is helping to moderate fuel costs to consumers by the partial excise tax exemption for ethanol and ETBE blends available to gasoline marketers.

A General Accounting Office (GAO) study has shown that reduced farm program costs, and increased income tax revenues, offset the cost of the incentive. The economic activity, attributable to the ethanol industry, will generate $3.5 billion in additional income tax revenue over the next f

Ethanol could prove to be a solution to a number of problems caused by the use of fossil fuels, and has also shown to be the solution to a number of other economical problems. Ethanol should be the fuel for the world.

Ethanol production is extremely energy efficient, with a positive energy balance of 134%, compared to 85% for gasoline. Ethanol production is also, by far, the most efficient method of producing liquid transportation fuels. 10-percent ethanol blends reduce carbon monoxide better than any other reformulated gasoline blend -- as much as 25%. Ethanol is low in reactivity and high in oxygen content, making it an effective tool in reducing ozone pollution. Ethanol is a safe replacement for toxic octane enhancers in gasoline, such as benzene, toluene and xylene. Even oil companies, such as ACE, acknowledge the environmental and energy benefits of ethanol. The more oxygen in a fuel, the cleaner and more efficiently it burns. The U.S. EPA has determined that ethanol-blended fuels reduce carbon monoxide emissions by 25-30 percent. Furthermore, because ethanol blended fuels also burn cleaner and pollute less, they are therefore reducing air pollution, this making ethanol the only motor fuel that will not contribute to the “greenhouse effect”. Rather, ethanol’s high oxygen content reduces hydrocarbon emissions more than any other oxygenate. Every gallon of ethanol used saves non-renewable petroleum as it is made from a renewable resource - grain. One acre of American corn produces 300 gallons of ethanol, enough to drive 4 cars for one year and enough to displace 400 gallons of imported oi

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