Where are all the Solutions?
Is Ethanol the solution to all our energy needs?
The Facts:
- Ethanol is a temporary solution to our dependency on oil.
- Ethanol can run in gasoline engines with little or no modifications.
- There are several car companies who are producing engines that are optimized to run on Ethanol, such as GM.
Here is a picture of their new concept car the Denali Hybrid XT. That is a cool truck, but is it really environmental?
For most of the public it seems that we think that Ethanol is a viable environmental solution. It is not. Many new studies now conclude that the emissions may be different, but just as harmful as using gasoline. Not Good 
So what do we need? The solution is not clear. But the conclusion is that we need big changes, we need to start now, and we cannot finish until we have a great solution.
Here is a two fold attack that we can do right now.
We have to reduce our need for oil from other countries. This is something that we can all agree to. Ethanol can be a solution to this. Weening ourselves from oil will make us think creatively. It will help the economy and make us more independent.
We cannot wait until we gain our oil independence to work on our environmental problems. All indications show that biodiesel is a great solution to our environmental problems. It has very little CO2 emissions very little particulate matter, and has a very low impact on the environment. The only downfall of biodiesel is the NOx emissions. Don’t worry they are working on that part.
So what is the conclusion? There is certainly a need for a temporary solution to get rid of the $3.00 gas pump price, and not let the pump get to $4.00. We work hard for our money, and we sure don’t need to work just so that we can drive back and fourth to work. Ethanol is that temporary solution.
We also should be working on a longer term solution. Biodiesel certainly seems to be that solution. Europe has had very clean burning diesel for a long time, and now they are quickly moving toward biodiesel. Brazil is completely independent of foreign oil due to their increase production of soybeans. We need more diesel cars available that can run on biodiesel. We need consumers to purchase these cars so that the biodiesel producers can begin to distribute their fuel.
We also need to be working on other solutions to our transportation and energy needs. We need to be working on perfecting Solar Power, we need to encourage Wind Power, and we need to utilize energy and power that is already available to us but is not being used, or used inefficiently.
We also need to continuously offer tax breaks and incentives not only to businesses but to all citizens for decreasing their energy usage. This will encourage home wind generators, home solar panels; both for electricity and hot water; and smarter housing design.
The solutions exist. Lets do our part to help out.
