http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/17/us/17ethanol.html?ref=economy
This article describes the increasingly slow demand for ethanol and how it has affects several ethanol dependent communities. As the article states, "Five years ago, rural America was giddy for ethanol." Several years ago, ethanol was supported by government subsidies and mandates, provided farmers in rural areas and small towns with plenty of business, and once produced billions of dollars of revenue. Now, nearly 10% of ethanol plants have stopped production mostly due to a drought that made the cost of ethanol to high to produce. This has had a a severe impact on the communities that once prospered by the profitable fuel.
Demand for Ethanol has died, which is effecting the supply greatly. Both of these decreases has caused job shortages and closing of ethanol plants. Since ethanol prices are so high, people no longer want to use it. Which shows that ethanol will not last in the near future.
ReplyDeleteI agree that loss of demand will make ethanol a resource of the past, mostly because the supply costs will soon out weight it's profitability, as lower demand will lower price as well.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting post. I remember years ago watching commercials that praised ethanol being the fuel of the future and how everyone needed to hop on board and invest. Ethanol produced from corn was supposed to be the next big break in the clean energy industry. However, advancements in technology and natural disasters have made the big break for ethanol very unlikely. With so many clean energy projects going on right now, Im not surprised that some come and go without really making any difference. I just made a post regarding solar power being the energy of the future. Hopefully solar powers fate is not similar to ethanols in the coming future because clean energy is something we are going to be in dire need of.
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