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Introduction
If you've read the article Fossil Fuels vs. Renewable Energy regarding the United States's fanatical obsession with oil and the blatant superiority of renewable energy, you wouldn't be surprised about the new hype around Ethanol. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. produced about 3.9 billion gallons of ethanol in 2005. In 2012, it is expected to rise to about 7.5 billion gallons. Additionally, the percentage of ethanol mixed with regular 87 octane fuel is also set to rise. So what's the story?
Contrary to popular belief, ethanol and other clean burning renewable fuels have been around for quite some time. More than 100 years ago, Rudolph Diesel, founder of the diesel engine, had engines that ran on peanut oil. In 1911 Diesel said, "The use of vegetable oils for engine fuels may seem insignificant today. But such oils may become in course of time as important as petroleum and the coal tar products of the present time.” Remarkably, his statement is very pertinent to our time. So what's the current hype?
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