[Raptor235]

Do you or have you ever used ethanol in your car? Do you know if your car even supports it?

Here is a list of cars that are on the road today and support flex fuel... http://www.aboutmyplanet.com/environ...-fuel-car-list

[savinggreen]

It's awesome that all of these vehicles out there are E85 capable. Unfortunately, I doubt many people have experience with actually using E85, as there are very few places where you can buy it. In fact I think there is only 1 retail location in Canada (in the east end of Ottawa). Anyone know of others in Canada? I think there are more locations in the US. Am not sure about Europe. Many governments and businesses are buying it in bulk for their commercial fleets, though.

For the rest of us, there's always low-level ethanol blends - usually refered to as E10 (although typically containing anywhere from 5-10% ethanol). As with the vehicles, you are often filling your tank with E10 without knowing it, because retailers don't always label E10 differently than gas. On the flipside, if you want to buy E10, it's hard to know where to go. I've got a list of the locations and gasoline grade of retailers that sell E10 in Canada. I'll be putting it up on my website shortly, and if interested, can either provide it here or link to that site. My list is about 2 years old, so likely contains some inaccuracies. The only other list I know of in Canada is on the Natural Resources Canada website, but their list is about 4 years old. Not sure of any elsewhere, but they probably exist.

[Raptor235]

yeah I don't know of any here in Toronto, also I've heard of stupid things going on in the states... where you have a gas station that sells normal fuel and E85 and when you go and try to pay for E85 you can't pay via Debit or Credit Card.... some rules they have to prevent customers not buying normal oil... that made me sooo angry

[workinman]

there is only one station within a 50 mile radius of my house that sells it.. and come to think of it, for as much talk as it was getting, now that gas has dropped almost $.90 i havn't heard much of anything about ethanol around here...

[savinggreen]

FYI - the US EPA site has a location map and alternative fuel locator tool on their website (E85 Refueling Stations)

[workinman]

been reading up on ethanol.. having doubts about it being the next great thing... apparently the amount of forest that are being cleared in brazil alone to grow sugarcane for ethanol is frightening.. then the fact that with the exploding population and a possible grain shortage in the world, people will be competing for plants used for food and fuel.. not that it's not a step in the right direction but i belief that it may only be a bandaid on a large problem..

[horselover]

Yeah, and bandaids fall off in time. Not going to be a long term fix that's for sure.

[Raptor235]

Originally Posted by workinman

been reading up on ethanol.. having doubts about it being the next great thing... apparently the amount of forest that are being cleared in brazil alone to grow sugarcane for ethanol is frightening.. then the fact that with the exploding population and a possible grain shortage in the world, people will be competing for plants used for food and fuel.. not that it's not a step in the right direction but i belief that it may only be a bandaid on a large problem..

I think it's just a small part of the future of energy production... it's actually a great solution for farmers in North America who have tons of corn that's selling for next to nothing and overloading the market with corn...

[workinman]

good point raptor.. any kind of relief on oil is a good thing

[skipper]

Actually, corn is a commodity that is again in demand. It is projected by many business forecasts to be one of the top commodities in 2007. It is in the company of zinc, silver, and uranium as the expected top commodities, and is set to have a better year than gold, oil, or natural gas. This is partially due to ethanol production, but mainly due to corn as a food, grain for livestock, and grain for glucose.