04/19/07 Is Ethanol Better?

Is Ethanol Better? I'm Greg Martin with today's Line On Agriculture. It may be greener but is it better? Ethanol is being touted by some as the answer to many of our fuel related problems but a new study shows that while it may be an alternative to gasoline, it is not as good for air quality. The Stamford University study by Professor Mark Jacobsen says more respiratory deaths may be attributed to ethanol. The study indicates that ethanol would raise ozone levels, particularly in certain regions of the country, including the Northeast and Los Angeles. But according to the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council or EPIC, the science behind the study is wrong. SLUNECKA: This study is just simply flawed because it's just an absolute fact that we're talking about carbon dioxide versus carbon monoxide. Quite simply whenever ethanol burns it produces an extra oxygen molecule which renders carbon dioxide versus petroleum when it burns it renders carbon monoxide which is toxic to humans because it binds in the hemoglobin. That's EPIC Executive Director Tom Slunecka. SLUNECKA: What people need to realize is that when ethanol burns in your car, the only thing that is released is CO2. That CO2 in the exact same ration is then reused by the plants in the same growing cycle depending on where you are or the next growing cycle making it absolutely carbon neutral. Everyone from the President on down has been talking about alternative fuels and ethanol has been on the top of the list, mostly from a controversial point of view since it's production has been directly tied to high corn prices. SLUNECKA: Corn prices going higher means that agriculture is stronger. And when agriculture is stronger, the entire U.S. economy is stronger. It's well documented that the entire U.S. economy will be blossoming 2 to 3 years after rural economies do because all of those jobs translate back into jobs within the urban sector. Everything grows from agriculture. It does seem that the ethanol industry has become an overnight success story. Have we perhaps rushed in to the technology without testing it first? Slunecka says, no. SLUNECKA: Well in the 70's and 80's we had gas shortages and long lines and high prices and we looked then to more fuel efficient cars and then oil prices went down and we forgot about it. We do know the science. We've spent the last 20 years studying and analyzing the science. Probably more importantly, we have advanced every aspect of creating renewable fuels. That's today's Line On Agriculture. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.