E85 -- Another Reason To Love Corn

I love corn. Corn on the cob, creamed corn, boiled corn, corn bread -- you name it, I love corn. Now I love it even more, since I learned more about E85 FlexFuel vehicles.

"E85" is the fuel industry's name for a mixture of 85% Ethanol and 15% Gasoline, available at select gas stations around the country. Ethanol is a form of alcohol that is made from corn. E85 won't burn properly in just any SUV engine -- you have to have a specially prepared engine to take advantage of the fuel. An E85-ready engine can burn traditional gasoline, though, so it is backward compatible as they say in the computer world. In time, advocates hope that E85 will be substantially cheaper than gas -- there are some hurdles to overcome first. There aren't enough vehicles that can use E85 on the road yet, so the distribution chain isn't in place. Though E85 burns cleaner than gas, it still requires fossil fuels to get it into your tank -- you have to grow the corn, you have to harvest it, process it and transport the ethanol -- all of which use substantial energy, currently powered by fossil fuels. Here's a link to a very informative "E85 101" site so you can learn more.

E85 isn't a solution to our fuel problems, but it can help extend fuel supplies until we can develop and implement a more permanent solution.

I just hope it doesn't drive up food corn prices -- did I mention how much I love corn?

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