Television has recently been barraged with a series of commercials from General Motors promoting their new ethanol-friendly vehicles with the catch phrase, “Live green, go yellow.” For those of you who haven’t seen it, imagine a whole bunch of people in yellow shirts promoting ethanol instead of Students First.
With gas prices on an almost-continuous rise-despite promises that a war in the Middle East would reduce them-Americans are beginning to look for cheaper alternatives. The management at GM paid attention in their business classes and are giving the consumer what they want: a car that runs off of renewable resources like ethanol and is less dependent on foreign oil.
Ethanol is a grain alcohol that is produced from crops like corn, barley and wheat. It can be used as an alternative fuel source to gasoline. A majority of currently retailed ethanol fuel is E10, which is 90 percent gasoline and 10 percent ethanol. The ethanol that GM will have their “green cars” run on is E85, a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline.
Now granted, to save money through GM’s plan, people will have to buy a new car that runs on the potent ethanol blend-but let’s try and think long-term. The savings may pay off in the end.
In Iowa, where ethanol use is the highest, customers at ethanol-friendly pumps are saving 40 to 50 cents per gallon. I would sacrifice my sister for savings like that at the pump.
There is also a rumor circulating that claims a switch to ethanol would be better for the environment. Some hippies at UC Berkley conducted a study and found that E85 cut green house emissions by 13 percent.
But really, who cares about the environment-the only real advantage of ethanol is that 40 to 50 cents I will be saving at the pump.
Though, with temperatures reaching the 60s in February, maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to consider cutting back on greenhouse gas emissions?
For those manly men out there who think ethanol is just for those hippie losers who eat soy all day, think again. Ethanol has a higher octane rating than gasoline, meaning with ethanol your car will have more torque and horsepower. Suddenly that Green Peace sticker could make you look manly.
Ethanol fuel has not gone mainstream yet. Utah currently has only four stations that provide ethanol, so it might be difficult to find those savings. The beauty of GM’s new cars is that they can still run on gasoline; in fact, they can run on any ratio of ethanol to gasoline, so you will never be stranded if you can’t find an ethanol-friendly fuel pump.
America has entered into a rehabilitation center for its gasoline abuse, and it is only a matter of time until it will be able to kick the habit all together.
Ethanol is America’s ticket to living a clean life. When that car you paid a $100 for in high school finally dies, think of going green. Save some money and maybe the environment.