Posted: Tue Apr 15, 2008 9:19 am Post subject: Re: Ethanol consumes almost a quarter of US corn production
It's unlikely the government will raise the blending amount
to 15% or 20% at this time. There's already a modest amount
of media coverage connecting the high corn and food prices to
the ethanol issue. Only a fool would not realize the political
fireworks that could occur shortly thereafter.
Whoops, this is the Bush Administration. It might happen.
Joined: Dec 18, 2004 Posts: 4438 Location: One Mile From the Columbia River
Posted: Tue Apr 15, 2008 9:26 am Post subject: Re: Ethanol consumes almost a quarter of US corn production
aahala2 wrote:
It's unlikely the government will raise the blending amount
to 15% or 20% at this time. There's already a modest amount
of media coverage connecting the high corn and food prices to
the ethanol issue. Only a fool would not realize the political
fireworks that could occur shortly thereafter.
Whoops, this is the Bush Administration. It might happen.
Not this government. Minnesota has made E20 mandatory effective 2013. _________________ Got Dharma?
Posted: Tue Apr 15, 2008 9:41 am Post subject: Re: Ethanol consumes almost a quarter of US corn production
Sorry if this is beating a dead horse. I have not done this calculation for awhile.
2,100,000,000 bushels fermented into fuel
2.7 gallons of ethanol per bushel (per the USDA)
5,670,000,000 gallons of ethanol
135,000,000 barrels of ethanol
At a usage of about 9 million barrels per day (current usage)
1/4 of our corn crop is going to the equivalent of 15 days of our fuel consumption.
So, "all" of our corn crop would only give us 60 days.
If everybody did like Minnesota and made 20% ethanol mandatory, it would take about 75 days' worth (20% of 365), in other words, "all" of our corn crop, plus a lot of Argentina's.
Posted: Tue Apr 15, 2008 9:56 am Post subject: Re: Ethanol consumes almost a quarter of US corn production
Argentina:
12,000,000 tons of corn harvested this year
39.37 bushels per ton.
472 million bushels total harvest
1.275 billion gallons of ethanol
30 million barrels of ethanol
3.37 days of US fuel consumption for the whole Argentina corn crop.
Joined: Dec 18, 2004 Posts: 4438 Location: One Mile From the Columbia River
Posted: Tue Apr 15, 2008 10:17 am Post subject: Re: Ethanol consumes almost a quarter of US corn production
You're not kicking a dead horse Pup55. This needs to repeated until the insanity of it all ceases.
Oh, but we're trying anyhow.
For 2007 the USA produced 3,100,000,000 bushels fermented into fuel. A billion more than the 2,100,000,000 produced in 2006. For 2008 it'll be even more. In a few years it'll be half of the corn burned in cars and trucks for personal transportation.
Then we'll try to burn all our food in cars.
Silly humans.
Silly typo. _________________ Got Dharma?
Everything is Impermanent. Shakyamuni Buddha
Last edited by eastbay on Tue Apr 15, 2008 10:56 am; edited 1 time in total
Posted: Tue Apr 15, 2008 7:12 pm Post subject: Re: Ethanol consumes almost a quarter of US corn production
pup55 wrote:
1/4 of our corn crop is going to the equivalent of 15 days of our fuel consumption.
And if we all drove fully loaded semis around it'd be the equivalent of 5-6 days of fuel consumption. So... We're using a few thousand pounds to move a couple hundred pounds and only getting a bit below half the fuel consumption of something that moves tens of thousands of pounds. Conspicuous, eh? _________________
Joined: Feb 02, 2006 Posts: 291 Location: Denver, USA
Posted: Tue Apr 15, 2008 9:58 pm Post subject: Re: Ethanol consumes almost a quarter of US corn production
pup55 wrote:
Sorry if this is beating a dead horse. I have not done this calculation for awhile.
2,100,000,000 bushels fermented into fuel
2.7 gallons of ethanol per bushel (per the USDA)
5,670,000,000 gallons of ethanol
135,000,000 barrels of ethanol
At a usage of about 9 million barrels per day (current usage)
1/4 of our corn crop is going to the equivalent of 15 days of our fuel consumption.
So, "all" of our corn crop would only give us 60 days.
If everybody did like Minnesota and made 20% ethanol mandatory, it would take about 75 days' worth (20% of 365), in other words, "all" of our corn crop, plus a lot of Argentina's.
Silly humans.
Pup,
Like the others said - everyone needs to see the madness of this.
One question, though, did you factor in the energy density difference between ethanol and diesel or RBOB. If ethanol has 1/3 less energy per gallon, that would mean 1/4 of our crop would only be 10 days of fuel, right? _________________ "It is certain that free societies would have no easy time in a future dark age. The rapid return to universal penury will be accomplished by violence and cruelties of a kind now forgotten." - Roberto Vacca, The Coming Dark Age
Posted: Tue Apr 15, 2008 11:10 pm Post subject: Re: Ethanol consumes almost a quarter of US corn production
pstarr wrote:
BLAME GW for turning this waste into another big government, taxpayer subsidized favor for his friends at ADM and Cargill. They are the only beneficiaries. The farmer will not win out because there is little or no more arable land to convert. He is just moving one crop over to another.
I own farm land. The farmer is winning big. Don't mistake. Even with a 20% input cost increase this year, we expect to make even higher profits than the record profits last year.
I agree ethanol is madness, but claiming farmers are losing is just horseshit.
Joined: Sep 14, 2004 Posts: 6481 Location: Rural Virginia
Posted: Wed Apr 16, 2008 7:39 am Post subject: Re: Ethanol consumes almost a quarter of US corn production
But real-person farmers represent only the tiniest fraction of the US population---something like 1%. The agri-corporations are the winners. The rest of us are losers.
The US corn business has to be one of the most evil businesses on the face of the Earth. At the cost of incalculable environmental and human damage, its basic goal is to produce fatty hamburger meat and sugar. _________________ "Actually, humans died out long ago."
---Abused, abandoned hunting dog
"Things have entered a stage where the only change that is possible is for things to get worse."
---Me and my brother
Posted: Wed Apr 16, 2008 8:07 am Post subject: Re: Ethanol consumes almost a quarter of US corn production
Quote:
only be 10 days of fuel
Hey, you're right.
This, minus the energy it takes to distill it, minus the energy it takes to plant and harvest it, minus the transportation to the tanks where it has to be blended, it is looking like we got squat out of it except for a few campaign contributions from the farmers who fattened up on this.
Posted: Wed Apr 16, 2008 8:46 am Post subject: Re: Ethanol consumes almost a quarter of US corn production
Heineken wrote:
But real-person farmers represent only the tiniest fraction of the US population---something like 1%. The agri-corporations are the winners. The rest of us are losers.
The US corn business has to be one of the most evil businesses on the face of the Earth. At the cost of incalculable environmental and human damage, its basic goal is to produce fatty hamburger meat and sugar.
I don't disagree. We tried to stop it from happening where I live using "foriegn corporation" limits to farmland ownership, but we failed. Too many loopholes. Too many farmers that didn't care because they were basically "giving away" their product to
Posted: Wed Apr 16, 2008 9:55 am Post subject: Re: Ethanol consumes almost a quarter of US corn production
Any food made with gmo corn, either directly or indirectly through animal feed, disregarding all the chemicals applied and processed with it along the way, is carcinogenic. Population reduction occurs both ways, the only difference between toxic food and fuel is in its efficiency, no pun intended. Policies are based in calculated interests, not in incompetency or stupidity.
Joined: Apr 03, 2004 Posts: 6558 Location: My Grandkids' Farm
Posted: Wed Apr 16, 2008 10:56 am Post subject: Re: Ethanol consumes almost a quarter of US corn production
An offshoot of what stump said is that a bunch of money looking for a home after the RE collapse is starting to invest in farmland. I can't remember the number I heard on Ag Day (I was snoozing) but there is a real runup going on in the cornbelt.
Personally I think it is great that there is a big infusion of cash in small towns in those areas, I'm not sure how it will play out over the long run but just like the ex-urbanites contribution to small town infrastructure this is a good thing going forward in the sense it might help out if there is ever to be a resurgence of local agriculture. _________________ Make a plan and work it:
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