Environmental Expert On Ethanol Part 2

In More Hype Than Hope, environmental expert Zoltan Mester, Ph.D., explains how conservation evaporates ethanol's benefits for cars:

Assuming 3.4 billion Barrels (average 9.3 million Barrels per day) of gasoline consumed in 2006 the 5.7 billion gallons (372,000 Barrels per day) of maximum ethanol production represents 4 percent of the gasoline pool. The percentage of gasoline that can be replaced by ethanol drops to a modest 2.9 percent (266,000bbl per day) because it takes 1.4 unit volume of ethanol to replace 1 unit volume of gasoline to account for equivalent heat contents in these fuels.

The Energy Policy Act of 2005 mandated a steady growth in annual ethanol production from renewable sources reaching 7.5 billion gallons of output in 2012. Renewable sources include dedicated energy crops, trees, wood, plants, grasses, fibers, agricultural residues, and waste materials. Assuming 10 percent increase in gasoline consumption in 2012 compared to present levels, the 7.5 billion gallons of ethanol targeted by the Energy Policy Act from any renewable sources would still replace only 3.4 percent of the gasoline pool adjusted for equivalent heating values. To achieve this goal from corn alone would require 32 percent increase in the quantity of corn dedicated to ethanol production compared to the present level. This scenario would likely upset the balance with other important uses of corn such as food for humans and feed for livestock.