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Ethanol fuel, a vegetable derived oil substitute, has been the answer to many a wannabe environmentalists prayers. A lean, clean, non-polluting means of powering vehicles all over the world.

Unfortunately the Emperors clothes don't fit very well.

Dragging oil from under the ground is one thing. Finding enough land to plant enough crop to power enough engines around the world, to the degree that it will make a real difference to the environment is delusional at best, and may well be more harmful than was previously believed.

I don't for one moment agree that we should continue on the present route. In fact I have had several deep discussions within my company on how to reduce our reliance on traditional fuel sources, and I am an advocate for my company to be at the forefront of new technology.

But we can't let our hearts rule our heads and we need a very good, extreme strategy that will last longer than the next ten years or so and ultimately benefit us not just environmentally but, let's face cold heart facts, it has to be financially and politically beneficial too.

(Bio)ethanol makes up a long list of worthy but ultimately unworkable sources. To name just a few of the recent substitutes:

Electric cars never made it because they have to get the power from somewhere to charge the batteries. The power stations that produce this rely mostly on on fossil fuels.

Electric transport systems such as trams etc, have the same problems.

Supergas, as used in Europe, is a derivative of oil. Up until recently it has just been a waste product, but now it is used as a fuel in it's own right. However, it is still an oil based product.

The argument that ethanol has been used for years proves that it really hasn't has that much of a global impact on our fuel consumption, and the cities listed as using it are generally still among the highest polluting in the world.

So where does this leave us?

I personally like the idea of using vegetable waste to produce oil if possible. After all, there is a huge amount that we don't use to consume the parts that we do.

But it needs to to done sensibly and ethically and with a great deal of forethought as to what we need and how to use it, rather than go headlong into just using it because it is there. That is how we came to be so reliant in oil in the first place. The original motor engine was produced to run on peanut oil but a lack of availability meant other sources needed to be found.

We need to move away from oil, simply because the planet will run out quite soon. My doubt is whether ethanol can reasonably fill that vacancy.

Learn more about this author, Roy Barton.
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