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ethanol supporters say they're encouraged by the results of a recent study refuting the notion that it takes more energy to produce ethanol than the corn-based fuel saves.
scientists at the university of california-berkeley say there's a 20 percent net energy gain by using fossil fuels to make ethanol compared to gasoline.
ethanol producers say the study should be enough to convince skeptics that cleaner-burning ethanol is good for both the environment and the economy.
consumers who were unsure about using ethanol-blended fuels may become new customers, producers say, and iowa could reap major benefits as one of the nation's top corn-growing and ethanol-producing states.
"the new study reaffirms what we already know: ethanol is energy positive, and it grows," said bruce rastetter, ceo of hawkeye renewables in iowa falls.
the company has plans to produce 100 million gallons of ethanol at a plant it's building in fairbank, and it will double the size of its iowa falls plant to the same capacity.
the study results are especially positive for supporters of e85, a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline.
currently, very few vehicles on iowa's roads are built to burn e85, but advocates say the alternative fuel has too many positives for its use to remain small-scale.
supporters say ethanol-blended fuel tends to be less expensive than regular unleaded gasoline, the auto industry has started marketing more cars and trucks capable of using e85, congress has passed renewable fuel standards that increase the use of ethanol and grant money is available to help install e85 pumps.
iowa has 21 ethanol plants and six more are under construction or expanding, according to the iowa renewable fuels association. the state produces 1.1 billion gallons of ethanol, but that is expected to soon increase by nearly 600 million gallons.
lucy norton, the association's managing director, said she hopes the study puts the question of whether ethanol is worth producing to rest.
as farmers become more efficient and production methods improve, the net gain in energy will only increase, she said.
alex farrell, co-author of the latest study, said previous research didn't take into account ethanol byproducts such as distiller grains and corn oil. corn turned into ethanol also feeds animals and is used for other purposes, he said, which displaces competing products that require energy to make.
"studies with a negative impact ignored that," farrell said.
since the latest research wasn't funded by any special interest group and used the most up-to-date data, farrell said his group's information is the most accurate.
just two percent of the gasoline sold in the united states in 2004 -- 3.4 billion gallons -- was blended with ethanol. the study said ethanol could supply 20 to 30 percent of fuel used nationwide.
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Video:
your brain never stops working. but it does cease talking to itself when you lose consciousness, a new study shows.
scientists have long wondered what the brain does and doesn't do during deep sleep. it remains active, they know. so what's the difference between consciousness and the lack of it?
when we're awake, different parts of the brain use chemicals and nerve cells to communicate constantly across the entire network, similar to the perpetual flow of data between all the different computers, routers and servers that make up the internet.
in the deepest part of sleep, however, the various nodes of your cranial internet all lose their connections. "the brain breaks down into little islands that can't talk to one another," said study leader giulio tononi of the university of wisconsin-madison.
tononi's team used a non-invasive procedure to activate select parts of the brain. subjects had electrodes attached to their heads to monitor how each stimulation triggered reactions elsewhere.
in the early morning, when subjects were dreaming, signals careened around the noggin similarly to when they were awake. but at night, during deeper sleep, the picture was much different. "during deep sleep early in the night," tononi said, "the response is short-lived and doesn't propagate at all."
consciousness has long mystified scientists. the new finding suggests that it depends on the brain's ability to integrate information, tononi says. the compartmentalization might also help the brain's synapses, which make all the connections that give us thought, to take a break, according to tononi's colleague, marcello massimini.
"this process would allow cortical circuits to eliminate noisy synapses and renormalize in order to be ready for the next day," massimini told livescience. the reduced activity might also help explain why performance in various tasks improves after sleep, he said.
the machine used to conduct the experiments is new. it generates a magnetic field to provide stimulation, and tononi's team expects this to be the first of many similar studies that will help researchers better understand the mind and specific disorders of the brain.
the study is detailed in the sept. 30 issue of the journal science.
my brain doesn't talk to itself when i'm awake either...damn...
:: anathema ::
yahoo
