Ed, I just work from the best info at hand. I'm not worried. Your point about high-compression engines and engine re-design is interesting. My initial thought is that it would take a transformation in the auto industry, either from inside or from a start-up company, to "fuel" that change, assuming that it is backed by good research. I haven't seen the research, so if you know of good sources on engine designs and ethanol emissions, I'd like to know about them. Meanwhile "Detroit" (if that's still a valid figure of speech for the auto industry) is bent on hybrids and gas fuel. Maybe the Volt will lead to some changes. A lesson from my area of expertise is that very large social entities are nearly always slow to respond, even after the crisis has hit. Small groups - villages, small businesses, whatever - are much quicker to anticipate problems, adjust on the spot, dampen a crisis, and respond effectively afterwards. It's a lesson that is almost lost in world of big governments and big corporations and global economics. Many ecological anthropologists would say that large scales reduce adaptability almost by orders of magnitude. It would be good if all parts of federal government (not just the usual scapegoats, such as EPA and FDA) could get the small-scale innovative drive concept through their heads. New Orleans would be better off, we would have had more fuel efficient vehicles years ago, etc., etc. Lee -----Original Message----- From: Iowa Discussion, Alerts and Announcements [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Ed Woolsey Sent: Thursday, December 09, 2010 5:24 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: biomass, corn stover, and the new wave of synthetic biology Lee: No worries. I always enjoy some discussion on the subject. This is one of those topics where you've always needed to follow WHO pays for these studies, and, the strings that come attached, attached to so many of our academics today. With most of these AQ tests there were always "agendas". I fear that this is one of the main reasons that the enviro community is so skeptical of ethanol. Ethanol does not have the energy (btu's) per gallon of gasoline. 73,000 vs 115,000. or about 30% less...so Gerald...I'm not sure how you would drop 10% or Lee...you would drop...30-40%. 9X115,000 plus 1x73,000 for E10 and 10x115,000 for straight gasoline. I'm calling BS....ok...a little BS. Gasoline is REFORMULATED for cold weather conditions. The use of lighter components (volatile that start easier) would lower the total btu's in your winter blend. Or, gasoline companies would have an economic incentive to dump lower grade gasoline and boost it more than 10%vol. Perhaps we need to monitor the blends more. Other related issue is the use of ethanol octane...110 vs gasoline's 85 or a little higher. Octane is an indicator of how efficiently the fuel combusts. Because ethanol has a higher octane you can use it in the higher efficiency engines. (diesel) Ethanol likes 16 to 1 and the current engines are about 8.5 to 1. Ethanol is short shifted big time. Boosting the compression ratio for the fuel results is something like 25% greater fuel efficiency. (If anyone's interested they can look it up or I can find it somewhere) Oh, and the reduced efficiency leads to what???? yes...more pollutants. Short story long....what we should be using is about 80%ethanol 20% water mixture in a higher compression engine...tuned for the fuel. Then lets see that AQ study....ethanol will smoke any fossil. (pun intended) e - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To unsubscribe from the IOWA-TOPICS list, send any message to: [log in to unmask] Check out our Listserv Lists support site for more information: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/faq.asp Sign up to receive Sierra Club Insider, the flagship e-newsletter. Sent out twice a month, it features the Club's latest news and activities. Subscribe and view recent editions at http://www.sierraclub.org/insider/ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To unsubscribe from the IOWA-TOPICS list, send any message to: [log in to unmask] Check out our Listserv Lists support site for more information: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/faq.asp