has an interesting lecture tomorrow (tonight..) on..

Water, Food, and Energy: Interwoven challenges to sustainable resource management

Kansas State University McCain Auditorium 

which you can listen to online I believe.. ( https://www.k-state.edu/globalfood/lecture-series/ ) 

kudo's to the Gardiners for sponsoring this.. btw.

On the news the other night they covered the new blender pumps going in at Wichita.. but they also included the API hit piece talking points..  ?!?  Arrrghh..  NO MENTION of the benefits of HIGHER OCTANE from Ethanol...???

( http://www.kwch.com/content/news/New-form-of-ethanol-based-gasoline-comes-to-Wichita-395446281.html )

Wichita, KAN. (KWCH) - A higher grade of ethanol blended gasoline will soon make its way to Wichita, giving consumers more options when they fill up. The corn based mixture goes through a process that processes some of the chemicals (lol when did starch become a chemical?) from a corn plant into gasoline.

ICM builds ethanol plants and provides research for companies across the state."Ethanol is alcohol, we've been making alcohol and moonshine, vodka since the stone age and effectively we've taken ethanol from sugars." said Jeff Scharping, the Director of Governmental Affairs for ICM.

The process to turn corn into gas involves extracting the starch and fermenting the product. The end result ends up in gas tanks across the state. There are twelve ethanol plants in the state that produce 550 million gallons of ethanol each year.

According to Scharping, most gas products includes a ten percent ethanol mix in the regular blend known as E-10. Now, gas stations in Wichita are offering newer varieties with higher percentages of ethanol including E-15, E-20, E-30, and E-85 blends.  But according to the U.S. Department of Energy, if you have a vehicle that was made in 2001 or later, you are eligible to use E-15. All other types can only be used for vehicles that include a flex fuel option.

"I think the biggest reason people don't know is because again the infrastructure at the pump. So when folks pull up E15 is not a readily available fuel via the dispenser," said Scharping.

Ethanol enthusiasts say the goal isn't to force people to use higher ethanol brands, but to give them a choice about what type of product they'd like to use.

"They'll be able to go to the pump and choose what they want. If they don't want any ethanol there will be E-0, if they want higher blend it will be there as well," said Scharping.

But other people say you shouldn't use the new option. hmmm wonder why API doesn't like it?

"Our concern is that E15 is costly for consumers. It's more costly than gasoline because it has 33 percent less energy than pure gasoline does." said Kent Eckles, Executive Director of the Kansas Petroleum Association. "Every major auto manufacturer has said that it can damage the fuel systems and pumps, the rubber seals and gaskets in their engines."

"In my experience, and i've used higher level blends for 8-9 years in many different vehicles and they work great." said Scharping.

AAA also says the fuel isn't as efficient as the traditional option. They say the option can drop your car's fuel efficiency by as much as 4.6%, but it is five cents cheaper per gallon.

But, officials in the ethanol industry say blended fuels reduce emissions and are less harmful for the environment.

If you're wondering what fuel is safe for your vehicle, you should check your manual or contact your vehicle's manufacturer.