John Kerry Wants to Mandate Obsolete Technologies
       In a highly publicized public relations event at Faneuil Hall Monday, Sen. John Kerry outlined his proposal that the Federal Government mandate a reduction in oil consumption of 2.5 million barrels of oil a day --- an amount equivalent to all the oil we currently import from the Persian Gulf. 
       In order to achieve this goal, he announced that he will be introducing legislation that will mandate 1800 new Ethanol fuel pumps across the country right away.  Accordingly, he wants auto manufacturers to be forced to produce vehicles with “Flex Fuel” engines, that is, engines that can use either ethanol or regular gas.
       The problem Sen. Kerry seems to be unaware of is the fact that ethanol, although successfully used in Brazil to lower their dependence on foreign oil, may be the wrong technology to foster, and his proposals may actually set the United States back in our quest for alternative energies.
       Ethanol is derived from “biomass” materials, like corn, sugar cane, or even “switchgrass” which President Bush talked about in his State of the Union address this year.  There are downsides of such materials.  When used as the primary ingredient in fuel, it will only run in specially modified vehicles with “Flex Fuel” engines.  It is also less efficient than gasoline, delivering less fuel economy per gallon.
       Recently, Dupont and B.P announced a new biomass fuel called Biobutanol that is derived from either sugar cane or turnips.  Although it is slightly more expensive than ethanol, it is more efficient, providing more power and economy per gallon.  Most importantly, it does not require a specially modified engine, like ethanol.  That means all the cars currently on the road can use it.  Moving the country towards using Biobutanol would not require junking many of the cars on the road in the U.S. right now, as Kerry’s plan would.