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News
Impeach George Bush and Dick
Cheney to prevent Wider War in the Middle East and Bring U.S. Forces
Home from Iraq with Professor Francis Boyle
a radio show transcript
Gary King: "We
Are All Constituents"
by Stephen Fox
The Hunting Fallacy
by Cyril Christo
Impeachment Limerick
Richard Arthure
What is a Culture of Peace?
by Louise Diamond
“Powerbrokers” (Legislative
Leadership and Lobbyists) in Control of Conference Committee
by Stephen Fox
NM Senate Joint Memorial
to Begin Process of Prohibiting Production of New Nuclear Weapons in
New Mexico
by Leland Lehrman
Newly Elected Las Cruces
Representative Jeff Steinborn Introduces Irrigation Fund Bill
by Stephen Fox
Native American Education
Act Vital to New Senator Lynda Lovejoy
by Stephen Fox
Legislature is a “Brain
Trust” to Accomplish All We Need in New Mexico
by Stephen Fox
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Alternative
Fuels Come of Age
by Priscilla Vanik
 As
I write this article on Easter Day I’m wondering to myself what
Jesus would think if he came back to earth now? What would he think
of what he sees? Part of what he would witness is a world where we are
putting so much emphasis on fighting and battles for resources instead
of enough energy and emphasis on solutions. This results in death and
destruction - exactly the opposite of what he preached and hoped for
in our lives.
What if we took precious human lives out of the line of fire and gave
them jobs working on solutions like alternative fuels? I imagine that
with a combination of the companies that are already making alternative
fuels, the automobile companies, more citizens, scientists & engineers,
a fraction of the budget used on weapons now, and a small army we could
realize the significant changes we need.
 The
following are some useful and important facts about Ethanol production
from Ethanol.org (The American Coalition
for Ethanol). U.S. ethanol production is reaching unprecedented levels.
In 2004, 3.4 billion gallons of ethanol were produced in the nation,
up from 2.81 billion gallons the previous year. By the end of 2005,
the ethanol industry reached a capacity of more than 4 billion gallons.
By the end of 2006, the total capacity reached nearly 5.5 billion gallons. This
dramatic growth does not show signs of stopping.
Currently there are 118 ethanol production facilities in the U.S. and
76 more under construction. Dozens more are in various stages of planning.
Today, about 40% of the nation’s ethanol facilities are owned
by farmers and other local investors. These ethanol cooperatives
have driven the growth of the industry over the past decade. A
sizeable portion of the ethanol capacity currently under construction
is also made up of farmer cooperatives, though a number of
new companies and investors have joined the industry in the last few
years.
With few exceptions, corn is still the primary feedstock for U.S. ethanol
production. Ethanol can also be made from other products such as grain
sorghum/milo, wheat, barley, sugar cane or beets, cheese whey, and potatoes.
Cellulosic feedstock’s such as municipal waste or recycled products,
rice hulls, sugarcane bagasse, small diameter trees, wood chips, and
switchgrass may also be used to produce ethanol. These cellulosic feedstock’s
and the process used to convert them to ethanol are close to being commercialized.
Ethanol can be made either by the dry-mill or the wet-mill method. Wet-mill
facilities were more common in the industry’s early days,
but today dry-mill ethanol plants far outnumber them and represent
the method used by all new ethanol producers. A wet-mill makes
a variety of products from corn including ethanol, corn sweeteners,
and gluten feed. Dry-mill facilities are dedicated to the production
of ethanol and its co-products. On the ethanol.org
website you can review a list of U.S. Ethanol Plants and link to all
of their websites. You will also find an abundant amount of other resources
about how to get involved in this important industry of alternative
fuels.
 So
which vehicles can run on ethanol? All gasoline vehicles are capable
of operating on gasoline/ethanol blends with up to 10% ethanol. In fact,
some states require the seasonal or year-round use of up to 10% ethanol
as an oxygenate additive to gasoline to mitigate ozone formation. These
low percentage oxygenate blends are not classified as alternative fuels.
We speak of ethanol vehicles as those specifically manufactured to be
capable of running on up to 85% denatured ethanol, 15% gasoline (E85),
or any mixture of the two up to the 85% ethanol limit. E85 may be seasonally
adjusted in colder climates such that the real proportion of E85 is
less than 85% ethanol.
Light-duty FFVs include a wide range of vehicles, from compacts to sport
utility vehicles to pickup trucks.
Unlike bi-fuel natural gas and propane vehicles that have two unique
fueling systems, FFVs have only one fueling system. To qualify as an
alternative fuel vehicle (AFV) for tax credits, incentives to meet requirements
for mandated fleets (federal, state, and fuel provider fleets) under
the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (EPAct), a vehicle must be capable of
using fuel blends up to 85% ethanol.
 FFVs are
widely available. As of 2005, the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition
estimated that approximately 5 million FFVs have already been sold in
the United States, although many buyers remain unaware that they may
fuel with E85. Check your owner’s manual, visit with your dealer,
or see the list of current model year FFVs at www.e85vehicles.com
to determine if you drive a vehicle that can run on E85.
If you are one of those individuals that wants to get involved but you
are concerned that there is not enough of the resource in your area
to fuel your vehicle just remember that demand usually helps to create
supply.
As far as the facts on where is E85 is available, E85 fueling stations
are located primarily in the central part of the country; and more than
150 public E85 stations are available across the United States. The
actual fueling process is the same as fueling with gasoline or diesel.
To find fuel stations anywhere in the U.S. you can go to: http://e85vehicles.com/e85-stations.htm
. The E85 stations in New Mexico are: the Giant station at 4354 Cerrillos
Rd. in Santa Fe, the Giant at 1229 Cerrillos Rd in Santa Fe, and in
Albuquerque at the Ever Ready Oil Company at 1200 1st St. Arizona has
6 stations, Texas has approx. 30 stations, Colorado has 16, California
has 4, Nevada has 7, and Oklahoma has 4.
To conclude my article I want to return to the thought of today which
is Easter. If Jesus came to earth now, I believe he would admire the
various protesters on the side of the road for their passion for change
and wellness of our world. But I also see that since Jesus was a man
of action and a laboring individual that his advice would probably be
for the energy of these protests to be put into action and to work on
a solution. I am personally not a big believer in standing around forever
and just complaining. Complaining makes the point and it vents our frustrations,
but action is the only way to actually produce a tangible and real solution.
So be part of that solution.
There is a massive and exciting world to explore as far as alternative
fuels go. The following are some great online starting points to research
how to get involved or shop for a vehicle powered by alternative fuels.
Since a good place to start is having your list of alternative fuels
and what they are go to:
http://www.eere.energy.gov/afdc/altfuel/altfuels.html
If you are looking for a great career path for yourself or your children
that will be a road for a better future you can find training resources
and programs by going to:
http://www.eere.energy.gov/afdc/resources/about_training.html
To start your research I suggest: www.discoveralternatives.com,
www.e85fuel.com, www.CornFuelIQ.com,
http://ethanolfuelnow.com, www.AlternativeFuelGuide.net,
www.energy-secrets.com,
http://www.ethanol-gec.org,
www.fueleconomy.gov, www.eere.energy.gov.
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