CONVERSATIONS THAT MATTER
Ethanol is the cleaner alternative fuel that got shoved aside through a series of unfortunate events. It was the fuel the Model T was designed to burn. It was the fuel that all auto manufacturers designed engines to run on. It burned far cleaner than kerosene, cleaner than oil-based fuels, it was in demand and it was abundant.
The U.S. government, however, saw it as a cash cow when it was in need of a tax plan that would help pay for the Civil War — a tax that increased the price of ethanol to more than $2 a gallon in 1864, while kerosene was taxed at 10 cents. Then in 1920, Prohibition banned the production of ethanol for any use because it is alcohol.
Despite burning cleaner, despite solving what is known as engine knock and despite cleaner emissions, ethanol has languished as a fuel. It’s a solution that is readily accessible and frequently overlooked.
Marc Rauch, a car lover, vicepresident of the Auto Channel and an accidental environmentalist, is leading the charge to invigorate a passion for ethanol, a fuel he says “is the answer we’re looking for. It’s the answer to our energy needs, it’s the answer to self-sufficiency, it’s the environmental solution that already exists.”
We invited Rauch to join us for a Conversation That Matters about a why ethanol gets so little respect as a fuel and why we need to learn to love it.
Simon Fraser University’s Centre for Dialogue presents Conversations That Matter.
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