Does anyone know the unintended environmental consequences of using ethanol to power our cars?

Question

I've read many articles about the benefits of using ethanol to power cars instead of gasoline. But I haven't read any about the unintended consequences of such a move. All of the articles have painted a rosy picture. But I'm not sure I believe that. What, for example, are the consequences of using surface water - the supply we use for drinking and growing essential foods we eat - to power our cars? Does anyone have an answer to this question?

Answer 1

Ethanol would be mainly made from bio organic material that will be especially grown for this purpose. This will cost lots of agricultural area. This will in many cases be taken from existing natural environments, destroying bio-diversity. It also uses a lot of fuel to grow these plants. The same goes for various kinds of vegetable oils that are said to be environmental friendly.
I haven't yet read it myself (but I will), but I think you can get more answers overhere:
http://freeenergynews.com/Directory/Ethanol/index.html

Answer 2

Since ethanol is so very corrosive, it cannot be piped to any location without causing the pipes to corrode very quickly, so therefore it must be trucked in, usually by a diesel truck, and what's the good of that? It doesn't cost that much less to make ethanol than it does to make gasoline, so where's the savings? I believe hybrids are the way to go, at least until technology can address some of the problems of ethanol and other synthetic fuels.

Answer 3

Ethanol comes from agricultural products, such as maize or sugar-cane. Every annual culture has huge impacts over the environment. It would be better to produze ethanol from permanent cultures, such as fruit trees.

Answer 4

we could probably become drunk. inhaling the volatile ethanol can make us drowsy and unfit for driving.