Originally Posted by Fengzi
Ethanol isn't the savior of the world that people make it out to be. Yes, it is an alternative to oil but the reality is that it's a pretty inefficient alternative. First, some evidence shows that ethanol produces more smog than gasoline. Also, depending on who you ask, ethanol has a negative net energy balance. Meaning that it untimately takes more energy to make it, than you get from it.
Probably the biggest concern with ethanol is it's impact on food prices. Farmers switch to corn and grow less of other crops. The price of soybean futures (kind of like buying soybean stock) is up nearly 50% from last year, largely due to the fact that farmers are growing corn instead. Also, as more corn is needed prices of corn will go up. This won't just effect your summer corn on the cob though. Corn products such as corn syrup, corn starch, etc are used in a huge percentage of the food we eat. Also, corn is a major source of animal feed. So, the price of that burger your eating along with that ear of corn will go up too.
Don't get me wrong, I live in the Silicon Valley where gas prices are high ($3.57 a gallon for the cheap stuff at Arco) and my daily commute uses about 3 gallons a day. I 'd love to see a cheap alternative to oil dependence. It's just that ethanol isn't it.
That being said, I won't pump on the 15th. Sure, people will just fill up on the 15th or the 16th but it does make a statement. And anytime you can get a large enough portion of the population to make the same statement at the same time, people listen.