Possible Ethanol Conspiracy?

I'm not sure if anyone has posted anything like this before I'm fairly new so I'm sorry if it has been discussed already.It may seem odd that I'm pro ethanol, and I know I will probably receive a lot of criticism from this thread but I thought I'd share my theory.
My First point I would like to bring up is why people do not like ethanol (then I will debunk as best as I can). Number one it is not as fuel efficient as ethanol. Secondly making ethanol brings up problems like the food vs. fuel debate, and transportation. And thirdly you must have a specialized car to use it as a fuel.
Alright so the first point is true you don't get as much bang for your buck using ethanol even in ffv's, however the problem could be solved easily. Ethanol doesn't have as much btu's as gasoline does but I've actually heard a rumor that if you increase the compression you will receive better fuel economy. I've found it hard to find a credible source to back it up but it would operate a lot like diesel, see in a diesel engine the fuel gets pressurized so it can ignite. So if you put Ethanol under more pressure it would be much more efficient.
As for my the second problem, there has been new advances in technology such as making ethanol from grass (which also has a much higher yield) which would help settle the food vs. fuel debate. Why waste your grass clippings?
As for my third point and the basis of my conspiracy theory, you do not need a specialized car to burn ethanol (the video below backs up my point). I personally have run E85 in my fathers 1967 Mustang and the only problem I had to deal with is adjusting the carbuerator so their is more fuel output (which is really simple) and hard starting sometimes. Yes you could benifit from new fuel injectors/computer but really you do not need it. I don't know why the public has been scared into thinking ethanol is the devil oh wait yes I do, the oil companies want you to give them all your money and the car companies want you to purchase their "special" vehicles.

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[edit on 1-7-2008 by asmall89]

bro why do you think we are at war?

Gas breaks 5.50 5.60 at the pump everything starts to go Ethanol... it will cause a temporary depressio but the conversion is cheep and then after we fail in the middle east... America becomes the no 1 supplier of oil

Colorado has more shale than Saudi Arabi and Iran have oil combined and The US and Canada produce all the crops... Ethanol...

The cost of Shale extraction and Ethanol production would leave gas at the pump at around 5.00 - 6.00 a gallon, maybe slightly higher...

soooo, burn a few oil wells, cause a big mess in the mid east to raise prices and then suffer a horrible loss of some kind and pull out, take your sanctions or whatever and...

wallla a few years later your the worlds leading supplier of oil... particularly Nice after the country goes bankrupt and defaults on it's debts too huh?

Friggin brillinat plan if you ask me... conspiracy maybe, but a damn good one.

If you up the compression with Ethanol (or any other fuel), you run the risk of cylinders igniting (by compression) at the wrong point in the cycle. That's better known as a knocking engine.

As for making ethanol from grass, that doesn't change one fundamental impact of ethanol production. Namely, that it places our fuel supply in the position of competing with our food supply. If you're using corn, then it's a direct competition...Farmer Smith produces X bushels of corn, and he'll sell them where he can get the best price...but every bushel he sells to the ethanol plant isn't made into food. If you're making your ethanol from grass, the competition becomes an indirect one. Farmer Smith can only cultivate so many acres...he's limited by time, cash reserves, and equipment. Every acre he cultivates in grass for ethanol, he doesn't cultivate in corn or wheat. Either way, you're trading food for fuel.

Ethanol can also place a serious strain on local water supply, which is a serious problem out here in the west.

Hm good points and normally I would just say why not just use build a diesel engine for ethanol, but that wouldn't make any sense since bio diesel is the better fuel, ethanol should merely be used as a temporary fix. It's just right now bio diesel and an inexpensive diesel car are hard to come by. Old Jetta's that use diesel are priced higher than the gasoline ones.
I understand what your saying about the grass crops vs food crops problem. But the yield is significantly higher and there is a lot of grass out there as well. And one of the main causes for water shortages in the west is people over watering their lawns (which Kentucky Blue Grass is a water guzzler anyway so why not just do away with it) so if your going to spend the money and water on your lawn why not get something in return? And for coastal states like California couldn't they just use sea water or do you think it would screw it up?

I had trouble with the video so here's the link if anyone hasn't seen it
www.youtube.com...&hl=en

[edit on 1-7-2008 by asmall89]