The Indy 500 this year will be run using engines that run on 100 percent ethanol.

Both Toyota and Honda have developed engines that run on 100 percent ethanol.

So why are we seeing this push to use 10 percent and 15 percent ethanol blends.

Why not go ahead and shoot for 100 percent ethanol use.

Could it be because Pres Bush, Dick Cheney and Condo Rice have all sit on big oil boards?

I realise ethanol has some drawbacks one being it evaporates too fast but i'm sure this problem could be solved with a little research into additives and new fuel tank, fuel line research.

But just look at the benefits..It's a 100 percent burn fuel meaning less emisions.It's octane rating is higher. You can make it from a number of things including grass and corn.

This would be real change this 10 or 15 percent blend is just hashing up stuff we did in the 70's.

• Pure ethanol has about a 30% lower energy content than gasoline. Less miles per gallon potentially makes it less cost effective depending on the current price of gasoline.

• Millions of additional acres of land would be needed to grow the necessary raw materials for ethanol to be used to replace gasoline.

• Ethanol production may make fuel costs less expensive but other costs would be raised as a result. To use just one example, the cost of corn is already projected to rise significantly just based on current ethanol demand. Corn is used to feed cattle, so this this in turn translates to higher beef prices.

Ethanol may be a viable option, but to think that we can just jump into 100% usage overnight (without serious consequences), is not realistic at this time.

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Biodiesel doesnt have to rely just on corn; it can work with a variety of plant matter.

It also doesnt necessarily require the good parts...you could harvest corn and turn the waste plant matter (leaves, stalks, ect..) into fuel.

I agree with the reasons it cant replace gas though. The energy output is not analogous to gas.

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I think you're mostly right. However, estimates indicate that even when excluding the facts that will make it unbelievably expensive in the short-run (at least the short-run that is) Ethanol will still be more expensive to make. This also includes what you already stated that it has not the power of gas, has a higher gallon ratio with gas and has practically no consumer market. The truth of the matter is gas is better than ethanol in every way, it's more powerful, requires less for the same range as ethanol and it's cheaper and faster to make. Nothing yet has even come close the great fuel that is gasoline (or diesel for that matter). The question here is can they develop this new industry into one that is efficient, productive and cheap enough to supply the majority of cars with fuel. This is a staggering task. I personally don't care if they switch cars over to ethanol as long as they don't touch the muscle cars. A-B cars can use other gas and most people wouldn't give a (*)(*)(*)(*) but they better not touch the muscle car industry.

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I'll never Forget. To pull You Closer is to Pull You Down. Ignorence can be an envy. Applaud us as the old American Power goes quietly into the night.

I forgot to mention why the fuel argument has finally won over the attention of the government. It's not because of global warming and it's not because they fear we're running out of oil. The only reason we're doing it is because we know there is a limit to how much oil we have. Nobody knows for sure about the exact quantity of oil there is. Here's what we know, there is a tremendous amount of oil world-wide which amounts to way more than have even used yet but there is a limit to how much we have meaning one day we WILL run out of oil. This probably won't happen for at least five hundred years, especially since they're trying to specialize oil to conserve it but there is no danger in supply and the scientific community still has no proof in any real amount that gas emissions are causing Global Warming.

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I'll never Forget. To pull You Closer is to Pull You Down. Ignorence can be an envy. Applaud us as the old American Power goes quietly into the night.