Things that people forget about ethanol
1: We are turning a food source into fuel. I don't believe that this is a great habit to get into. If we were able to use a bi-product of food production not so bad.
2: It takes a PILE of water to produce ethanol. Again, something that humans and animals need to survive. There are already fights over water, why consume something as valuable to us as water to make a fuel.
3: How are the plants powered. I believe it takes more power to produce a gallon of ethanol than it does to produce/refine a gallon of fuel (this I am not 100% certain on).
4: Ethanol ATTRACTS WATER! - This is why is should not be used in marine vehicles and if not burned fast enough can cause issues with motors.
I believe that from an environmental standpoint, we need to have more comparable research. For example, and a bit off topic, a recent Danish study found that plastic (the correct plastic compound) has less impact on the environment than a paper or cotton bag. See article below
https://nordic.businessinsider.com/...r-the-environment-than-organic-cotton-bags--/
I don't believe this study however touches on the impact if comparable items are not properly disposed of. There are so many environment things that are put out on theory that when studied, really don't have as much, or possibly a long term negative impact on the environment. I believe that Ethanol need a better evaluation over all, all things considered, to determine its impact.
So many of these things turn out to be a "follow the money" situation. For years, our tax dollars were subsidizing the petrol companies around $0.50 per blended gallon to mix in Ethanol. They didn't want it, since it was a competitive product. So, why was Ethanol cheaper at the pumps, tax dollar subsidization. And, because it was made with corn, these dollars were bundled in with the Farm Bills, just as many of the welfare programs are.
Sorry....Rant over.