It's a debate that will probably go on as long as hybrid cars exist...Is ethanol really more green than patrol based gasses?


Through my research I would have to say it's not really that much better (except for emissions). The amount of resources it takes to produce ethanol is possibly more than the resources it takes to make regular gas. Then, while more resources are used, prices in supermarkets' food costs will increase due to demand on products that can be converted into ethanol.



So is ethanol really better or "greener", or is it some government plot to make the cost of living more expensive?

yeah, I've heard this same thing... the only place I think that it is better is in Brazil where they use sugar cane to create ethanol and all the vehicles run off the stuff and it became self sufficient. All the energy used to produce the ethanol is made from the ethanol they produce.... and the extra is used as fuel for cars.

But the corn ethanol in the US is not as efficient. Sure it burns cleaner which is good, but I think is used more energy to than Oil to get to the fuel stage.


And the issue of food prices is a big deal. How much land are we going to use to create fuel instead of food. Instead of trying to make MORE fuel we need to think of more ways to be more efficient. Cities need to be redesigned to accommodate more people into smaller distances. More people who can should be working from home instead of driving 30-60 minutes to get to work. Stuff like that is more "green" then ethanol.... but it isn't happening.

When people say hybrid cars are more green, I believe that most of them are referring to the ones that use gasoline and electricity as fuel. However, both of those are non-renewable energies so they really aren't that much greener anyway (though, you may see more green in your wallet).

I think the most green that you can get with a form of transportation is a horse. Just get rid of cars and boom, one of the biggest contributors to air pollution and climate change will be gone.

Pretty much all energy (minus sources such as dams or wind turbines) releases bad gases into the environment in one way or another. For example, in the supposedly clean electricity's origin, usually is made by burning coal, which is just as bad as driving a regular car. So, unless some new way is made for hybrid cars to run without electricity, corn, oil, or anything that requires carbon emmisions, I'll stay out of the Hybrid-car craze.

the_casualty : Well, it does save more money. You'll generally go farther and in time the money that you saved from not purchasing a regular gas guzzler, the thing will have paid for itself.

I'm not an expert at this stuff but nothing is green especially not cars. If you want to be green go live in the forest with the animals I think its just a good spin to sell stuff is all, they really could care less about the environment they are just using the environment as an illusion that your saving the world and gas millage all at the same time.

I think its actually pretty funny they mention green considering how much we chop forests down and pollute the air while driving and making these machines. And what do you use when you pay for a green car? Paper or plasic, so what we have here is just another shopping scam nothing helpful or new or revolutionary in terms of green / saving planet earth.

See, from the things i've heard, it actually cost more per gallon for ethanol, and it doesn't get you as many miles to the gallon as regular unleaded fuel will. That being said, it would actually be way more expensive to own a hybrid car rather than a gasoline based car, not to mention the fact that most garages can't do repairs on hybrid cars due to the dangers of high voltage in the engine compartment. So you even need to take the vehicle to a special technician for repairs. I agree with Jigsaw and believe it's some overplayed sales pitch to get treehuggers to pay extreme amounts of money for a vehicle which is safer for emissions, but may be more damaging to the environment in the long run. It's like the southpark episode, (rich) people only buy hybrid cars for the name "hybrid" posted on the car so they can look at other people and say, "hey, I'm green. Why aren't you?" as if owning a hybrid car makes you a better person than those who don't have a hybrid. Lol, what was the word they used? Smug?

Personally I would love to be able to get a hybrid car just because Gas is so expensive.

The issue being that most Hybrid cars are still ugly looking.

Well, hybrid car fuel might require more work to get then regular car fuel. However, fossil fuel is running very low, and once it runs out this will be the only fuel left. My solutions are to either start stocking up up on hybrid fuel now, so that when we run out of oil we won't have to completely stop, or to stop using cars altogether and switch to more green sources, like bicycling or jogging.

Green is based on more environmentally friendly actions, not economical costs. By that definition, Hybrid Cars can only help. Ethanol fuel is 85% Ethyl Alcohol. That alone makes it more Green. Because corn is a major ingredient, the prices for corn could probably go up, but that could be managed. In the long run, the environment could gain more than people would lose.

Hybrid cars by definition are cars that use more than one energy source... like the hybrid electric cars such as the Prius.

And yes, they are more green because you use less fuel to run them. It is the same gas, yes, but instead of the 20-25mpg that most cars on the road get, these hybrids get 40-50mpg.

Now if you want a much more efficient car, there are the hydrogen fuel cell cars which only have water as the emission. The problem is it costs a lot to make those fuel cells so they are not cost effective. But if I could afford one I would buy one in a heartbeat.

Hybrid cars can still produce emissions but not as much as a standard gasoline car. Some can even get 100 MPG, which is a lot. The downside is that hybrid can's don't have as much power as gasoline cars.

Yes they can go green

Yes