Ethanol and economic threat? Have you checked-out the price of a liter of gasoline in Holland or Germany? Do you mind paying around $5.00 per gallon here at home?

At the moment, it is the only viable alternative to gasoline. This is the only currently available fuel source that is produced from renewable sources such as trees, corn and other vegetation. Oil conversely is a deletable resource that once taken out of the ground does not regenerate itself.

Pine trees for example may be harvested at any time of the year and does not require a specific harvest time such as late summer or fall. This means that Ethanol can be produced year-round without interruption. Does it mean a shift in our habits or our thinking about renewable fuel sources? Of course. Ethanol, like conventional gasoline is highly volatile and can be used as a good base for fire, though it is about as dangerous as gasoline when in pure form. It can get you drunk, really drunk, moonshine drunk, though the hangover might be a bit much for most people. It can be used to remove stains, clean concrete or other difficult tasks. Is there some economic pain? Well if you are a major oil company of course.

Last year, Exxon Mobil had over 3 billion dollars in revenues, mostly driven from petroleum based products. This is not sustainable if consumers begin shifting their fuel consumption away from oil and into alternative fuels such as ethanol. Exxon is the world's largest oil company and it is no doubt looking at shifting its own revenue generation as it ponders the future. It is written that Exxon Mobile can produce over 6 million barrels of oil per day. This being said, they do not. There will always be some demand for oil, but to the general public, alternative fuel sources are attractive. I can count nearly 100 companies that are listed as pipeline or oil transportation companies. Some of these companies will have to reconsider their long-term viability and there could potentially be some job losses for them.

Is the war in Iraq about freedom? Democracy? or Oil? A good question? Well I am sure there are several perspectives on this so I will not try and sway either way. During the Gulf war, the invasion of Kuwait was an injustice. But why be so concerned about a country of less than four million people, most of which are ex patriots? The response was just but we should not loose sight of the fact that under Iraqi rule, Kuwaiti oil would have been controlled by a fascist

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