Everything is getting reinvented, so why not fuels. Ethanol is Oil 2.0. The New York Times writes about heavyweights like VC Vinod Khosla and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates doing their bit to promote Ethanol as a fuel replacement. For cars to become flex-fuel, that is use both ethanol and/or gasoline, the additional cost is about $100. Not bad!

Om Malik is a San Francisco based writer, photographer and investor. Read More

7 thoughts on “Ethanol is Oil 2.0”

  2. I’m a biodiesel man myself (or would be if such things were available to me). I predict this is the next great technoreligious war: ethanol vs. biodiesel. With Bush, Gates, and GM all on the side of ethanol, how can it be good?

  3. but where do you get ethanol or biodiesel? from corn? can we possibly grow enough corn to fuel the worlds cars? that has many side effects on the environment.

    I think energy 2.0 or 3.0 is the Sun. We have yet to do a good job capturing it, yet it is completely clean, endless and can burn a person standing in it for an hour (or less). That kind of energy being beamed at the Earth everyday is our future. put it into cells that drive electric vehicles and use it to heat homes.

  4. It’s not just corn, Scott. Biodiesel can be made from any organic oil, including that recycled (very lightly too) after being used for other purposes (like making french fries). Even ethanol can be made from more than corn (switch grass is often talked about). I believe they have already worked out a viable crop rotation for producing ethanol without any greater environmental impact than any major food/feed crop and I’m certain the environmental case for biodiesel is even better. Arguing that going completely solar-powered is best is like arguing that free-space optics should be the only mode of wireless communications.

  5. jesse – i love the simple argument you make. i agree. we need to start somewhere, and this just might be a good place.

    i clearly have no idea about this, but if it is smart people who want to figure this out, i am all for it.

  6. hopefully it is not either/or situation scott. i think solar power is a good area as well. i think the whole movement away from fossil fuels is a good thing.

Comments are closed.