SmallGovt

Here is a very cool article about the possibilities of ethanol…

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/27/technology/27proto.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Notice the article references sugar as the source for ethanol. Cheap sugar makes ethanol feasible.

Corn is not a good source of sugar. Corn has long chain carbohydrates that must be converted to simple sugars through mashing. Mashing takes a corn mush to 140 to 160 degrees where enzymes break down carbs to simple sugar. This is usually done by firing the mash with propane. Burn one fossil fuel to prevent burning another. In the end you get corn syrup that will ferment into ethanol. Costly!

Sugar doesn’t need to be mashed. Liquid sugar and yeast will spontaneously produce ethanol.

Why don’t we use sugar? The US doesn’t produce it. We have high tariffs to keep the cost of sugar high. Ever wonder why all the food labels are loaded with corn syrup? Check the label on that sugary soda. Yup, corn syrup where the sugar used to be. Unhealthy!

If we stop using corn for fuel, sugar can be used to make very cheap ethanol. The inventors in the article indicated that they could make ethanol for about a dollar a gallon with cheap Mexican sugar. Sound like a good idea.

Newsbusters has a great article…

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2008/04/22/will-media-remember-gores-1994-tie-breaking-vote-mandating-ethanol

Now that fuel and food prices are heading into orbit, will the media remember that the Goracle (Al Gore) cast the vote to mandate ethanol?