Energy! (From another group)

OK, start over: Why would Japan be buying ethanol to be transported

> from the Midwest U.S. instead of just buying oil / gasoline / fuel from > somewhere closer?" >

I think I might actually be able to answer your question here. Gasoline in Japan costs ~$7 a gallon. They have to buy it from the same places we do, and since they are an 'ally' they get schtupped about the same as we do. I guess they are more adventurous, and would rather have their fuel dollars going to an ally than a potential enemy (that is just my guess). Plus, I would imagine they are trying to reduce their dependance on unrenewable fuel and run more and more things on something that will be around a long, long time after the rotted dinosaurs have been burnt up and are encircling the Earth in the Ozone Layer.

In other words; they're smarter than we are. They are DOING something about the dependance on Foreign Oil rather than crying about it.

I am willing to bet the switch to Ethanol will be painful at first, but as people (here) learn that there is money to be made from making Everclear that more and more places will be learning to make Corn Squeezin's, and eventually the price will be less than Fossil Fuels, as the supplies of one increases and the supply of the other decreases.

This could have a 'rubber band' effect, though. The Japanese are pretty big consumers of Oil. If they switch most of that demand to Ethanol, then there will be a glut of Oil on the market. If the Chinese (currently the number one *BUYER* of crude oil) follows suit, there will be a MAJOR glut of oil on the market! That means, gasoline will become cheaper and cheaper, so that we here in the US of A will continue to burn it, rather than seeing what's happening as a Wake Up Call and following the lead of the Japanese. By the time Oil prices rise agan, Japan will be getting most of the output of Ethanol, and we'll be Up The Creek energy wise, scrambling to make up lost time; in the long run, it will cost us MORE doing it LATER then it will the Japanese doing it NOW.

Very interesting question you asked! I'm glad I read it. Otherwise I might not have known about 60% of the plant's output going to Japan until much later.

Now, if only I could do something with this knowledge that would benefit us here... :) _____________________________________________

I posted this as a response in another group. There was one thing I didn't mention, though: We already HAD one Wake Up Call 30 years ago, and we didn't pay attention then, and we AREN'T paying attention NOW; we're just crying about the Gas prices.

Too bad we aren't as smart as the Japanese.

Reply to
Hachiroku
Loading thread data ...

Petroleum is chock-full of useful compounds, as evidenced by how refineries extract and sell them into production chains that have little to do with fuel. I have heard it suggested that burning any fraction is a criminal waste, because everything (even tarry sump-muck) can be processed into useful products.

So the gas-guzzlers can expect market competition for crude to be sustained, even if ethanol (and similar sythetic fuels) do become popular. Naturally, stupid waste will remain a big consumer. :-(

-- Andrew Stephenson

Reply to
Andrew Stephenson

we can't produce enough Ethanol for the entire US even if we grew no other crop. We can never follow smaller countries in the use of alternate fuels.

Reply to
doc

  1. Japan has about as many people, all packed into an area the sizex of California, Oregon and Washington.
  2. We are curerently paying people *NOT* to grow crops that could be used to make Ethanol. Jus think of the dent it would make if the Government STOPPED pying them NOT to grow certain crops, and all the fuel-hungry car owners paid them *TO* produce these crops?

Add to that all the other regions in the world where corn, soybeans, sugar cane, ect can be grown...

Reply to
Hachiroku

This would not be much more than a drop in the bucket to the US market! You best study the effect of ethanol, you'll never sell it to the American public.

Reply to
doc

I'm already buying it! I have been for about 4 years. The station I fill my cars at sells a 10% ethanol mix. Back in 1980 I had a brand new Toyota Corolla SR-5. I moved to Cow Hampshire and there was a BP station selling Gasahol, at about 3 cents less than 91 octane for the same octane rating. I ran that car on it for 2 years before I moved away and the Gasahol craze dried up.

Everyone kept telling me, you'll ruin your engine, you'll burn your valves, you'll wreck the carberator, etc, etc.

I ran that car for 6 years, put 255,000 miles on it, and never had a problem. Oh, wait: a water pump went, the E-Brake cable froze up, and I had to put tires on it. The only other maintenence on the car was oil changes.

If it's good enough for Indy/CART, I guess I won't have a problem with it.

Reply to
Hachiroku

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.