Life Is A Highway...

We make this look good. And comfortable.

Thanks for comments!

Just so we're clear, E85 is 85% ethanol and only 15% gasoline.

We'll be educating ourselves plenty on this trip. Thanks for asking some important questions though, we'll try and ask experts some of these along the way.

OK, I didn't read well. Sorry.

But corn ethanol is still an agricultural and ecological disaster, supported by ADM and big Ag (I believe), and a hugely bad idea.

Biofuels compete with food, destroy agricultural land, and prolong a dysfunctional car based way of life.

I'm sorry but I see nothing "environmental" about cruising down the highway even burning 85% ethanol.

Do we really want to devote our agricultural land supply to growing fuel? I very much doubt it. In some ways ethanol is worse than fossil fuels because of what they threaten to do to the planet as they are grown.

They "compete with food?"

As it is right now we pay farmers (ESPECIALLY Big Ag) to grow nothing at all. Why don't we pay them to run algae pools instead that can be economically converted into biodiesel?

Someone whom I unfortunately cannot cite did the math and worked out that you would need a parcel of land roughly equivalent to an 8th of the area of Arizona in total in order to completely replace gasoline and diesel fuel in the United States. That is nothing stretched across the southern U.S. (where you could grow more or less all year).

Why is the car-based "way of life" (goodness, that's dramatic) "dysfunctional" if you can do it in a carbon-neutral way?

We are not in a food shortage in this country by ANY stretch of the imagination. When people starve it is because of policy, not because of production capability.

I'm not sure why I didn't get the option to provide it, but my email address is star%$#kruzr@star!!!kruzr.com (minus the surplus punctuation). I would love to hear what your response is to this.

Americans love comfort thus love to waste because they do not know where to draw the line.
As an example, an SUV is the biggest aspiration for a 17 year old. (As a first car that is).
The likelihood is that a 17 year old has no family, no need for the space and possibly no cash to justify the fuel consumption of such a car.(lets not mention the pollution factor)
Americans are megalomaniacs in their way of living – Big Cars, Big Houses, Big Everything and BIG DEBTS.
Did you know that only 2% of the US population makes more than $100K?
The average American Salary is below $ 30K per year – imagine how it must feel to pay $ 3.50 per gallon while driving an SUV with that salary? No wonder there’s an average 3 month wait to purchase a Toyota Hybrid Car. Have you ever waited that long when buying an SUV?

Things are about to change - and I will capitalize on it every step of the way.

May you live in Interesting times.

Make up your own mind.

here are some stats:

1) Hybrid Sales jumped 141% from 2004 to 2005

2) 97% of US transportation Industry depends on Oil.

3) Germany derives 7% of it's energy from Wind Power

4) From 1977 to 1985 Import of Oil From Middle East dropped 87%

5) The US Automobile/Automotive industry uses 14 Million Barrel of Oil per Day

6) USA Accounts for approx 4 1/2 % of the world's population but consumes 1/3 of the world's oil prodction.

7) 1/2 Of the fuel used in Brazil is Ethanol

8) 100% Tariff is applied to ethanol being imported into the USA

9) Wind Power could supply roughly 30-40% of the US energy needs.

10) Americans drive 3 Trillion Miles per year

11) Oil/ Fossil Fuel Creates a greenhouse effect thus global warming.

12) Asia and Europe are heavily investing in clean energy while the US is NOT.

13) Ford and GM are closing facilities and laying off workers while Toyota had one of the best earning years ever thanks to Hybrid Sales

14) Our Addiction to oil is funding Arab/terrorist countries indirectly.

15) American only now started to have crisis mentality while most European and Asian countries always have.

Joseph Di Virgilio,
Portfolio Manager
Juno Mother Earth Resources Fund

Solving the severe issues with oil addiction will take a variety of responses. Why attack an honest effort at one of those responses: ethanol? I agree that corn is not the best fuel source, but it will quickly be replaced by agricultural and other wastes. But ethanol is only one piece of the puzzle.

I applaud this road trip. It honors an American tradition while raising awareness that much of the country really has little or no access to oil alternatives. People won't dump their cars and trucks tomorrow for bikes...and many people can't. That's reality.

We need to alter that reality by offering many new ways of getting around. Biofuels are part of the solution, just like bicycles, hybrids, better public transportation, improved fuel efficiency and answers we haven't even found yet. Ethanol and biodiesel are not cure-alls, but definitely a way to break away from oil that many people can accept and use.

Why attack an honest effort at one of those responses: ethanol?

I would call that an honest critique, not an attack. Why attack an honest critique? Without honest critique, you have dogma.

… it [corn] will quickly be replaced by agricultural and other wastes

Not if the corn lobby has any say in the matter, and they will, because the Corn Belt votes. Just ask Obama.

But ethanol is only one piece of the puzzle.

I would call it (corn-based ethanol) more of a diversion of resources that could be used to fund research into viable solutions.

It honors an American tradition while raising awareness that much of the country really has little or no access to oil alternatives.

If you are referring to the tradition of consuming mass quantities of liquid fuels to entertain ourselves, I would agree. We have little or no access to oil alternatives because, as yet, we have no true oil alternatives. Corn ethanol is a way to funnel money to farmers and votes to politicians supported by them. It is also fodder for car ads by manufacturers trying desperately to stay solvent while continuing to sell inefficient gas guzzling dinosaurs.

Ethanol and biodiesel are not cure-alls, but definitely a way to break away from oil that many people can accept and use.

No one is claiming they are cure-alls. People don't need to be goaded to accept biofuels. People will buy the cheapest fuel available. Most could care less what their fuel is made from.

Corn based ethanol and soy based biodiesel are environmentally destructive, non-renewable farces that will not lead to better ways of making biofuel, but will entrench giant well funded, heavily invested lobbying organizations that will stifle future legislation that attempts to remove their subsidies, thwarting competition from less environmentally destructive forms of energy coming down the technological pipeline.

Corn-based ethanol isn't a stepping stone to better technology; it is a stumbling block.

This is an issue that has bothered me for some time. Every now and again, I catch someone saying "most could care less..." To say they could care less is to say that they do care. I think you mean to say "most could not care less."

Those are my too sense.

I am appalled by the responses on this page. Anybody can sit around and argue about whether E85 or biodiesel are ecologically, ethically or morally effective, or offensive. Especially when they sign all of their e-mails "Anonymous". The point that's being missed is that both fuels are a stepping stone toward cleaner and more "homegrown" fuels. Of course, you can still sit back and complain. That's why it's America. But I would like to see more people "doing" and less people talking. I get a kick out of seeing peoples faces when I tell them that my 1995 Ford Taurus, 3.8L dinosaur gets 22 mpg in town and 28 on the highway. I can't afford a new flex fuel vehicle but at least I'm not driving one of the new SUV's that gets less that 20 mpg on the highway so someone can have a status symbol. I also believe that the way that the oil companies are raping us for their record profits is a sin and they'll have to pay for eternity when we all meet our maker.
Greg Warren, Cumberland, Md.

http://www.biodieselrealitycheck.com

New York-based Juno Mother Earth Asset Management will launch the Juno Mother Earth Resources Fund in the second week of September, aiming to capitalise on the scarcity of fossil fuels and the growing demand for alternative and renewable energy and related technology. The majority of the fund will be invested in commodities around the company's Mother Earth Index.

It will be managed by Roland Jansen, the chief investment officer, Joseph Di Virgilio, the co portfolio manager for equities and Arturo Rodriguez, the co-portfolio manager with responsibility for risk management and hedging.

A smaller segment of the portfolio will be dedicated to alternative and renewable energy and related businesses. It will take long positions in companies likely to capitalise on the increasing global consciousness about environmental issues, such as developers of hybrid automotive technology and alternative and natural fuel sources, explained Di Virgilio. He noted sales of hybrid vehicles jumped 141% from 2004 to 2005. It will also take short positions in companies likely to be hurt by the same trend.

He noted that, for financial considerations alone, companies that depend on oil will come under increasing pressure. He claimed the majority of Americans living outside the east and west-coast metropolises will find it harder to afford to run cars with high petrol consumption as the oil price continues to rise. "Ford and GM are closing facilities and laying off workers while Toyota had one of the best earning years ever thanks to hybrid sales," he said, blaming the American manufacturers' woes primarily on SUVs.

Di Virgilio said natural disasters and freak weather has brought environmental concerns to the forefront of the US public consciousness and believes it is on the cusp of dramatic changes in US attitudes in this area. The fund will therefore profit from launching at a time when the global public are becoming increasingly aware of the implications of pollution and global warming and are becoming more inclined to act, he added.

Jansen is the Portfolio Manager for the ABN-AMRO Bank Mother Earth Commodity Ex-Energy Strategy Fund, also managing the Mother Earth Index Fund, a fixed weighted portfolio of 23 natural resources around the world that reflects the value of the main raw materials like oil, gas, grains and metals.

Di Virgilio was previously vice president and global head of alternative investments at Trident Investment Management where he led the research, and business development activities of $1bn multi-strategy fund of hedge funds.

Rodriguez has worked for Fortis Finanz AG within the international corporate finance unit, structuring and executing transactions ranging from leverage buyouts to private equity, spanning multiple industry segments across Latin America and Europe.

In 1998 he started his own company, managing $100m for high net-worth individuals throughout Latin America applying advanced investment analytics and adopting a hedge/risk control investment philosophy.

Mother Earth has not set a target for returns, but has set capacity at $500m.

No prime broker has been selected though it is currently a choice between Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank, the company said.

As well as the "Mother Earth Index", the company issues the "Mother Earth Ex-Energy Index". Both are global indices of natural resources.

We swung by a farm yesterday outside of Mead, Nebraska that was part of an almost completely closed system. We'll have video footage posted soon, and when we do, I think a lot of the skepticism people have about the efficiency of ethanol will be addressed.

It's possible to produce E85 in a way that's much healthier for the environment.

Then why is Brazil so sucessful? Do you think they have troops getting killed in the Middle East every day. This country does not need to be bullied by Iran or anyone else. I would rather give my money to a US farmer any day.

The Big money goes to the owners of Ethanol plants, not the farmers. Farmers near an Ethanol plant can and do get a little more for their crop if delivered to a local plant. After extracting what little ethanol is in the corn, the mash byproduct is sold as feed for livestock and actually competes with the farmers growing corn for livestock. Studies done on ethanol that are not biased by all of this money being thrown around by the government clearly show that ethanol from corn is not the answer to our imported oil problems and that the major players (profiteers) now and in the future will be corporations, not the farmers.
Only 30% of the current ethanol plants are Farmer Cooperatives with the rest owned by corporations like ADM. Government subsidies to ethanol plant owners is a gauranty of profit. Other non Ag related corporations are looking at buying the Farmer Coops ethanol plants because it is so profitable to make ethanol.
Brazil is a good example that needs to be studied. They do not use corn as their main ingredient and are using more efficient crops that produce more ethanol per ton. Brazil has done so well with Ethanol production that they have a surplus that we can buy ethanol from them and Have it delivered to us FOR LESS THAN WE CAN MAKE IT HERE! The politiicians have put a huge tariff on Brazilian ethanol in order to artificially support the ethanol industry here. A few weeks ago, there were various press releases about an "ethanol shortage" and the prices for ethanol blends shot up. What shortage? When we could import from Brazil for less than it costs us to make it here?
Sadly, ethanol production is not about getting rid of our oil dependence, reducing pollution or helping out the farmers. It is about Corporate profits, Campaign contributions to weak politicians and clever advertising to further the goals of special interest groups.

I'm glad to see I'm not the only one here who is posting on their webblog about f***ing with our friend's Ecto. What irresponsibility from people who preach so much about being responsible. It looks like my previous comments were taken down and I'm sure yours ( and mine here ) will be too.

That's the thing about these people though. They preach about how the oil companies lie and hide the truth, then when they screw up what do they do? Instead of being MEN and addressing they made a mistake and even FILMED themselves committing tresspass ( and admitting to it on film ) and maybe apologizing.... They just delete our comments.

Yeah, you guys are totally different from the oil companies. You don't like and delete inconvenient truths, do you? Oh, heaven forbid, no.

Douchebags.