Expand Ethanol Use to Save on Gasoline
Posted on: Thursday, 1 September 2005, 21:00 CDT
There are some simple ways to alleviate the high price of gasoline. One is to increase the ethanol content from 10 percent to 12 percent immediately and to higher concentrations as ethanol production expands.
Another way is to produce ethanol more economically by growing corn on land not in use for crops. One example is strip-mined land, which can be fertilized by sewage sludge which need not be decontaminated as much as sludge used on crops for human or animal consumption.
Illinois has many acres of land along highways, which support weeds. Instead of these weed farms, IDOT can use some of these acres for ethanol crops.
A third way is to import ethanol from Brazil, where ethanol can be made for less than 90 cents per gallon. If an ethanol tanker spills its cargo, the alcohol will dissolve instantly and be diluted infinitely. An oil spill could easily cost billions of dollars to remediate and to litigate.
A fourth way is to straighten roads, such as the "S" curve on LaSalle County Highway 15 southwest of Marseilles and the semicircle at Gardner and Buffalo Roads in Grundy County. These improvements would pay for themselves in safety and economy.
John Kaschak
Streator
Source: Pantagraph
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