The airport terminal in Sioux Falls, S.D., could be anywhere, until you reach the baggage claim area. Between the carousels is a green and white Indy-style race car, covered with decals that indicate it runs on ethanol. Approach the rent-a-car booths, and you will see a sign taped to the countertop reminding customers not to pump E85, the ultraethanol blend sold locally, into the rental cars because they are not designed for it and it will ruin their engines.

This is ethanol country, the center of the national push to turn carbohydrates into hydrocarbons.

This article was originally published with the title Is Ethanol for the Long Haul?.

2 Comments

1. 1. bfreewithrp 09:12 PM 7/24/08

   Everything looks good, is on schedule and it looks like Ethanol fuel is well on its way to eventually replacing gasoline as a fuel source for our present automobile engines. What we must all consider is that under full-scale production, Ethanol will deplete our food supply.
   An Abrupt Reality: Fuel or Food
   

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2. 2. Pablo 10:30 AM 11/11/08

   Ethanol will not deplete our food supply. Where do these people come up with this? Ethanol production strips the carbohydrates from corn. The remaining fat and protein left as distillers grains are fed to livestock and feed more animals than the original corn produced into ethanol.

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