There is only one good possible result from billions spent on oil wars - the failure of them. It seems clear that the sudden rush to ethanol, HEV, wind, etc. is because us regular folks are sick of petroleum wars and the catastrophic effect on people and planet. Don't forget that only a couple years ago all this activity did not exist.

Opportunities for a renewable energy industry that equitably replaces the monolithic petro industry are abundant. There is business and cleaner living in all the alternatives including FCs. So the real issue is not E85, E10 or BEV - it is to encourage all these solutions on a leveling field (leveling because subsidies must be rethought). Cost of cellulosic, algae and battery/cap start-ups should be incentivised with loan guarantees, tax deferment and credits.

The carbon tax issue may be addressed by the losses in petro market share raising the price of production and per gallon cost. Lower demand will raise prices to compensate for accelerated depreciation and unrecoverable drilling expenses.

Finally, let's try this idea - automakers become razor makers - give away the razor - sell the blades. They sell a car once and service it over its extended life with energy sales. This will likely be the model as we move through biofuels to BEVs. Or another analogy: alliances of hardware and software. Build the car AND the energy to drive it.

With the complete lack of leadership (on all fronts) from the top, NOTHING is going to change until American's elect someone who has at least a clue as to what is going on. Sure, hydrogen may be the ultimate solution but lets not continue to ignore the possibilities that our current infrastructure and technology can do RIGHT NOW! Unfortunately everyone should just hold on till 2008 and hope that by then those not on board can catch up, because the administration's nose is so far up in Iraq that they have no clue (or interest) in changing energy policy. This should be abundantly clear to all on this site..."wringing of hands" over now...

Can someone explain this to me. Why do people pretend that the cost to solving problems in Afghanistan will be insignificant? The $500 billion, if not spent in Iraq, would have been spent by continuing operations in OEF. Whether it be fuel or reconstruction, there are many needs to be met. Those helicopters, needed for mountain ops, are fuel hungry.
_Lets say, we did not launch OIF in 2003. The reminants of te Taliban and Al-Qaeda flee to Pakistan's FATA after Tora Bora. Pakistan does not have full control of these tribal areas. They then use it as a staging ground and rear area to attack from, as they have. At least 100,000 allied soldiers is needed to secure southern and eastern areas. Another 200,000 Afghan National Army and police is needed to hold the cleared sectors. Federal/national/provincial/local security and defense forces may ultimately need to number 500,000, to a million, for stabilization purposes. Add on top the 20+ years of war, and the need to recontruct the country the size of Texas, with ~30 million people.

_Granted, we could have eliminated the need for oil imports with $500 billion, by constructing xTl plants. Yes, might have created 500,000 to a million middle class jobs. However, we should not trivialise the costs of other endeavors, and obligations.

I wonder how may of these states have Net Metering to match there gusto for E-85. Missouri does not.

Please no more e10,e20 mandates. They do NOTHING to lower our dependence on OIl.

E85 is a TRUE alternative to Gasoline.. E10,E20 is simply a white wash .

What are you going to do when the middle east turns off the spicket ? Your E10 and E20 GASOLINE will sky rocket in price, if you can even find fuel because it is mostly gasoline

E85 on the other hand is an ALTERNATIVE fuel ..

It is not a total answer, not a total soultion .. it is meant to be an alterntive.. maybe in 10 years it can have 30% of the auto fuel market , maybe hydrogen has 4% , plug in electrics 12% , propane 1% and gasoline products the other 53% .

That diversity forces each Industry to be as efficient as possible because each Industry is then required ot compete , actually compete for the consumers dollar.

When the consumers have choices they get the best prices .

Right now E85 only represent 1% of all Ethanol production! the rest goes to the OIL COMPANIES! that should be outlawed NOT promoted.

Ethanol and Oil should be forced to COMPETE not encouraged into making deals selling ALL the ethanol to the OIl companies ..which is exactly what is going on .

By buying up all the ethanol production the Oil Companies are working to keep E85 off the market ..

They dont want any ALTERNATIVE fuels (like E85) on the market that directly competes gallon for gallon against their Gasoline product.

Allen Z,
The answer to your question goes way back before 911. Petroleum was what got Bush Sr. into Iraq in Desert Storm, stationing a lot of troops in Saudi, and intefering with the Saudi gov. in a way that caused a repulsion in the fundamentalist Arab youth, but mostly Saudi's youth, of which Osama bin Laden is the chief instigator. Had Petroleum been not so important, 911 would not have happened, and there would be no Afghan war, nor Iraq 1 or Iraq 2 wars. In a round about way, the USA is sustaining its profligate way of living with the blood of its soldiers, and the sweat of its future workers paying off the war debt. Shoulda follow thru with previous energy policies of conservation and development of alternative energy after the first and the second oil embargo...But somehow, complacency sets in, or was it the work of the oil cartel and other interest groups(?) hi-jacking America's well-intended alternative energy and conservation and flew them to the ground.

Must we now suffer thru another ill-advised energy policy (ie. corn ethanol) that will do nothing to solve our petroleum dependency?

Wake up, Roger, it is not what we do, it is what they are…

This whole Ethanol thing is getting souped up in politics I agree. Its going to damage it in the long run. Don't forget that Hydrogen Fuel Cells, ultra-capacitors and even the Nickel Metal Hydrite batteries in today's HEVs could be highly developled in a few years and subdue the political will as well as the desire and need for bio-fuels. Especially when their production costs are myopic.

I'd go with E10 right now, get into the market and secure a strong position. Look to compliment other developments as they roll in. Ethanol and other bio fuels are not the stars of alternative energy like fuel cells and ultra-capacitors. But it could pick up a backwater farmer's position and live on.

It was estimated that hybrids will make up about 1-2% of the car fleet and level out. I don't know if anyone believes that, but if these cars get 40% better mileage then E5 is a better bet. Corn is not good to use and sugarcane is better, we know that.
Hawaii and Florida had sugarcane industries until ADM came up with high fructose corn syrup. Let's push for cellulose between E5 and E10 and at the same time look for more efficiency and behavior modification. Less commuting would be good. That is one of the reasons Bob Lutz of GM gave for the Volt 16kWh of battereis, to communte to an from work 20 miles each way. That is why they made the Volt E85 capable.

One way to avoid future costly oil wars and greatly reduce terrorism potential would be for all industrial countries (oil consumers) to do as Brazil and Canada are doing, i.e. produce their own liquid fuel and completely stop importing OIL from the middle-East. Some kind of progressive embargo and/or a very large carbon tax on imported fossil fuel from the middle-east may be necessary.

Without the hundreds of $billions/year in oil revenues, the 200+ million people in that area would spend more time praying for better days and have less time and resources left to try to destroy us. By not using their oil, the main (apparent) reason to fight/kill us would cease to exist. They may even have to go back to work to survive.

Simultaneously, we should introduce ways to reduce liquid fuel consumption by 50%+ with PHEVs/EVs/FC etc while reducing GHG.

The progressive transition from the old petroleum based economy to a new alternative cleaner energy economy is part of the coming unavoidable post-industrial revolution. The leading countries will benefit most (USA/EU/China/Japan/etc) but others would follow.

We could even apply special import tarifs and/or quota on imported goods made with middle-east oil. This would discourage cheaters.

FYI