July 2, 2008
As corn becomes an increasingly important source of fuel for America, it opens itself up the mercy of the weather. "The floods (through the Midwest) have helped send the price of ethanol up 19 percent in a month. They appear to have had little effect on the price of gasoline at the pump, as ethanol represents only about 6 percent of the nation’s transport fuel today. But that share is expected to rise to at least 20 percent in coming decade," writes Jad Mouawad of The New York Times. The price of ethanol has practically doubled since touching $1.50 a gallon in September.
Mouawad reports that biofuel supporters continue to stand in favor of ethanol, arguing that the increasing supply is maintaining a check on gas prices (which could be rising at a much faster rate). They also maintain that in the future ethanol could be derived from materials that are resistant to bad weather – such as wood chips and switchgrass.
Comments | 7 Total
July 2, 2008 at 1:29pm by Jason Tagg
Similar case: In New Zealand much of the electricity in New Zealand is generated hydrodynamically. In years when summer rainfall is low, there can be a shortage of electricity supply during the peak-demand winter months (balancing the need for wintertime electricity with the need for water for irrigation during the summer is an additional complication). So prices go up those winters.
July 2, 2008 at 3:32pm by Oleg Terenchuk
We have to make distinction between regular car gas and diesel. Diesel cars ban benefit from suplimental source of fuel when both diesel and vegetable oil fuel are supplied because diesel car can use both of the fuels.
Diesel suppliers will have to compete with vegetable oil fuel suppliers. Vegetable oil fuel suplements diesel. Increased suplimental fuel availability is just one factor why diesel pricess will drop.
So, unless both events happen in unison, the gas prices will not change for the worst. In worst case scenario the pricess will remain the same because if both fuel supplies decrease in volume, the combined volume will still be equal or greater to current supply. Of course i chose to not factor in complete global meltdown of our agricultural inftastructure, in which case we'd have bigger problems to deal with.
July 2, 2008 at 3:41pm by Rip Empson
How true. It is going to be quite some time before biofuels replace gasoline, and even longer before we figure out how to best balance ethanol with other forms of biofuel. In the meantime, we will have to weather the storm. Literally. We need to become less dependent on oil, but at the same time we know how expansive the infrastructure of oil and gas is, how hard it is to change industry and our economy. No to mention that we are not even sure that biofuels are good for the environment. And now we are forced to remember that biofuel could be severely affected by environmental disasters? When will we get some good news from the energy sector?
July 2, 2008 at 4:54pm by Paul Hastings
In Northern California it seems that most of the interest in sustainable new home construction is driven by owners and a small number of green builders and architects. I find that owners are open to sustainable building concepts, but are simply unaware.
I think that this means for any sizable change to overtake new home construction that we will have to employ large-scale, education/marketing, akin to that used by consumer product companies. Producers on green building components need to engage in demand creation at the consumer level, just like P&G, Intel, and drug companies, and expand their promotion outside industry B2B channels.
Funding national promotion is probably way too expensive for all but the biggest, but regional promotion may be doable.
July 2, 2008 at 5:58pm by Trevor Miller
The day when Iowa can account for an actual whole number percentage of the entire U.S. fuel supply (in bio-fuel) AND our consumption levels have risen to such a point that it becomes impossible to supply though crude oil production or imports, then we have far surpassed the point of alternative energy efficacy. At a certain price point, nearly every conceivable alternative energy source (geothermal, solar, wind, tidal, nuclear, etc.) becomes so much more appealing than bio-fuels, and so does the overall conservation of energy. If you truly believe Iowa will become the next fuel capitol of the world, you are sadly mistaken.
July 3, 2008 at 10:19am by Christopher Frawley
yes, but if and when that day ever arrives it will be way off in the future. real leadership has to arrive first and we've been waiting an intolerably long time for that.
August 26, 2008 at 2:23pm by Tom McAuliffe
Biofuels make for good politics and bad energy. All they do is push up food prices and consumption of water and government/taxpayer subsidies.