OT of an OT: Ethanol

[geoschmo]

Phoenix-D said:
Hydrogen isn't an energy source. You have to produce it, either by cracking water or other slightly more complicated methods. Either way you need power to do it, which leads right around to the same problem..

This is true, but it's true for any sort of liquid fuel. Even the energy in oil came from the sun originally through the plants and the animals that ate the plants.

We aren't talking about creating energy here, just converting it from one form to another. Nuclear, solar, wind, and all the others are possible solutions for our electric needs long term when the supply of oil is gone, but unless we can come up with a practical means to store the electricity and recharge that storage quickly electricity will have limited uses as a vehicle fuel.

All forms of conversion have losses. The question is coming up with the most efficent means of conversion possible.