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1. • CommentAuthorAlex
   • CommentTimeMar 10th 2007 edited

    

   As the amount of ethanol being produced in the US, and the rest of the world, continues to grow, many other industries are beginning to feel a pinch. This is because demand for corn is skyrocketing, and other industries that rely on corn are finding that the demand is growing faster than the supply can keep up.

   This is simple supply and demand economics – the core of capitalism – and it is beginning to affect many things we take for granted:

   * Coca Cola will be forced to raise prices or find an alternative sweetener because they use high fructose corn syrup and corn prices are on the rise

   * Kellogg’s has reported it is costing them more to make breakfast cereals such as ‘Corn Flakes’, which means they will eventually raise prices

   * Tortilla prices are on the rise in Mexico (Note: I have read that tortillas use white corn whereas ethanol uses yellow corn and so this could possibly be inaccurate.)

   So what’s the answer? I don’t think it is an easy one. Though we are feeling the pinch right now because of our growing use of corn, the amount of ethanol we are using right now is just a tiny fraction of the total amount of oil we are consuming. Think about it: our goal is to switch to 10% biofuels by 2010 – and billions of gallons of ethanol per year will be required to make that transition.

   But if we don’t make the switch to ethanol, fossil fuel prices will continue to rise because there is a finite supply of them. So consumers will feel the pinch one way or another.

   What do you think?

2. • CommentAuthorcannonfoder
   • CommentTimeMar 10th 2007 edited

    
   http://www.biodieselinvesting.com/biodiesel-archives/2007/01/24/study-shows-mixed-prairie-grass-better-energy-source-than-biodiesel-or-ethanol/ http://www.biodieselinvesting.com/biodiesel-archives/2007/03/01/miscanthus-research-takes-place-for-the-production-of-ethanol/ as economic realities set in, other sources of feedstock will become more prevelant, and take the pressure off corn. corn is used because the grain, techonology, and infrastructure are available today, not 5-10 years from now. also checkout alge based biodiesel, and cellulostic ethanol.
3. • CommentAuthorAlex
   • CommentTimeMar 11th 2007

    

   [quote][cite] cannonfoder:[/cite] as economic realities set in, other sources of feedstock will become more prevelant, and take the pressure off corn. corn is used because the grain, techonology, and infrastructure are available today, not 5-10 years from now. also checkout alge based biodiesel, and cellulostic ethanol.[/quote]

   That certainly looks like the way ahead. The government has been handing out lots of grants for research into cellulosic ethanol technologies. Both that and algae are a few years away but certainly on the horizon.

   * Iowa ethanol plant gets $80 million grant to produce ethanol from corn stalks

   * New York gives $14.8 million grant for cellulosic ethanol demonstration facility

   * Dupont and Broin Partner to produce cellulosic ethanol

4. • CommentAuthorcannonfoder
   • CommentTimeMar 14th 2007

    
   and now kansas gets a big cellulostic ethanol pland...and more on the way!! win-win-win for everone.......except maybe exxon
5. • CommentAuthorjrhmd53
   • CommentTimeMar 26th 2007

    
   Cellulosic ethanol allays the corn overuse problem and is a good step forward. It would be even better if butanol, rather than ethanol was product. It can be used in unmodified gasoline engines, admixed in diesel (up to 20%), and is transportable in existing pipelines.
6. • CommentAuthorcannonfoder
   • CommentTimeApr 5th 2007

    
   Reuters.com reports that Coca-Cola Co. may look into an alternative for high fructose corn syrup due to the rise in corn prices. Recently, corn prices are high because a large portion of crops have been allocated to ethanol producers. they might consider......sugar????
7. • CommentAuthorcannonfoder
   • CommentTimeApr 5th 2007

    
   Cellulosic ethanol allays the corn overuse problem and is a good step forward. It would be even better if butanol, rather than ethanol was product. It can be used in unmodified gasoline engines, admixed in diesel (up to 20%), and is transportable in existing pipelines. ok...so i had to google butanol sounds like this might be a rising star on the alt energy horizon need to do more research, but sounds like there is hope here
8. • CommentAuthorcannonfoder
   • CommentTimeMay 15th 2007

    
   U.N. Releases Report Doubting Biofuel Benefits the u.n.....the same group that said iran was 10-15 years from being able to produce reactor quality uranium.....that north korea did not posess the capibiliuty to build a atomic bomb...... and released by c.b.s.....the agency that still will not admit the bush national guard papers were forgeries.... so heres my 2 cents worth....whe world is at or past peak oil production. that means there will be less and less oil as time progresses, and it will be more and more expensive. conservation is NOT the answer...if you think so, tell me how long you can "conserve" one gallon of water...in the desert...in the summer. in reality, all you can do is prolong the enevitable, eventually you must drink the water, or die....and no matter how slowly you use the water, there is only one gallon, and eventually it will be gone, and you will die. unless, of course, you find an alternate source of moisture. that is what we are doing at this point in time with biofuels. sure, it is placing a strain on the food supply, in part because of the "gold rush" mentality of some get rich quick investors. but as other sources of feed stock are put on line, the pressure on corn will subside. the ecological impact of monocroping will diminish, aqnd the biosphear will rebalance itself. however, if we panic over a few imbalances in nature, and halt conversion to green fuels, what will happen?? the poor, who depend on gift grain, will starve, not because the grain was diverted to fuel, but because there was no fuel to grow, process, or transport the food from the field to where they are starving. the "global econimy" could collapse, with no, or inadequet fuel, to transport goods from factories to terminals, across oceans, and to retail outlets, commerse stops. people freeze in winter, because there is no fuel for the nheating oil delevery truck, and no fuel for the train that hauls coal to the electrical generating plant. the concerns of thye enviromentalist should be just that, concerns, NOT roadblocks. they can and will be dealt with in calm, logical, rational ways, NOT with kneejerk hysterical reactionism. that's my two cents worth
9. • CommentAuthordancap
   • CommentTimeJun 7th 2007

    
   I am glad there are others out there who are knowledgable enough to see the problems with ethanol as an alternative energy source. I recently found a terrific article on the web called, Leading Investment Expert Reveals This Is NOT the Year for Ethanol" , which really examines these myths that we have heard so much about recently. You must read this article if you want the real information about ethanol, especially if you plan on investing, this will really open your eyes.....
10. • CommentAuthorMichel
    • CommentTimeOct 18th 2008

     
    I think there needs to be more emphasis on algae for the feedstock for the ethanol production.
11. • CommentAuthorTreadstone
    • CommentTimeDec 22nd 2008

     
    Whats the real reason the price of food went up?