Option #16: Convert to an Ethanol Economy and Screw the Middle East.

by Ed Johnston, North Dakota, USA

Dakota Ethanol, LLC, located near Wentworth, South Dakota built an ethanol plant for $40 million. Operating as a New Generation Cooperative with 900 members, they produce 47 million gallons of ethanol annually. The plant employees 35 people.

USA, as of 2005, has 97 ethonol plants with only 2 a year being built.

The US government could have created 12,500 grants to American farmers to create as many small ethanol plants. 437,500 jobs would be created and allow for a significant movement towards American energy independance as well as bolster the American farm industry (especially corn).

America consumes about 116 billion gallons of gasoline each year. With 47 million gallons X 12,500 ethanol plants = 587 billion gallons a year, thereby making America not only gasoline independent, but become a global exporter of ethanol. This would drop the price of oil, thereby cutting Middle Eastern countries at the knees.

Problems with this idea is whether the USA has enough crops to support all these ethanol plants. Given that 500 Billion would fund 5 times the amount of ethanol needed and given that cars tend to run well on the E85, the total amount of plants needed would only be about 2400. The other 4 billion would be used to set up E85 plants around the country, as well as subsidize all new cars in the US to be able to run the 85% ethanol. The federal government could subsidize the replacement of existing engines (conversion are too expensive and yield excessive pollution levels). At the very least the federal government could mandate the use of 15% ethanol in all vehicles. Since the US gets 19% of its oil from the Middle East, by dropping consumption by 15% on existing vehciles and 85% on all new vehicles, within 5-8 years the US could be oil independent (or at least, only dependent on Canada, and by all accounts they've got huge amounts of the stuff in the oil sands of Alberta)

Let's go green with our fuel instead of having to pander to the Middle East. Instead of defeating our enemies on the battlefield, let's defeat them on the corn fields. And at the same time, take a huge step towards caring for the earth.

Source: http://www.ag.ndsu.nodak.edu/qbcc/HomePage/ethanol%20plants1.htm