Green Car Fuels: Ethanol
With the fuel prices skyrocketing, more and more people are trying to purchase those vehicles that use a fuel other than gasoline. Ethanol powered vehicles have been in production since the late nineties, when the government first gave automakers an incentive to produce more of the vehicles that would run on something other than gasoline. These ethanol vehicles are unique in how they are able to run on this fuel as well as go back to using gasoline. However, the perks of using ethanol is usually the option that most people want when they are looking for a vehicle.
Ethanol is made from corn and is a clean burning fuel, hence the benefit to the environment that the fuel promises. The fuel can also be made from wheat or barley. Since these types of materials are available in abundance, it makes ethanol one of the best fuels that could be used. However, even with the abundance of ethanol that could be made, as well as the benefits to the environment that is promises, there are not very many true ethanol stations that are available to those who do have these vehicles. In fact, nationwide the number of ethanol stations only number around 175. Why is this?
The reason for the sparse number of fueling places really has to do with the politics of the situation. For example, ethanol cannot be transported through the existing lines that gasoline use to be transported therefore, this significantly lowers the number of stations that are willing to carry the fuel since it will have to be brought into the station through the use of trucks, by rails or other methods. Plus, consider the improvements and additions that existing stations would have to do in order to be able to carry the fuel. There is just not incentive for these stations to do this.
So what can be done in order to make ethanol become a more popular way in which vehicles are fueled and a great step towards improving the air that we breathe? First off, the government is going to have give stations the incentive to offer ethanol fuel, whether it be paying for the additions and changes that will be needed, or just simply giving the station a tax break at the end of the year. However, in addition, the public needs to take a more stronger interest in using these kinds of vehicles. There are many tax cuts that these individuals can get when they do purchase one of these vehicles.
Another huge problem with the acceptance of ethanol is that the fuel industry has not been entirely accepting of the idea of having another fuel replace gasoline. In fact, ethanol is looked at as the competition. Thus, there is going to have to be something done in order to combat this problem as well.
Ethanol is just one of the many alternative fuels that are out there for vehicles, however, until substantial changes are made, the idea of ethanol being the main source of fuel for vehicles is never going to become reality.