For those that think simply switching to ethanol is a problem-solver, there is research to show otherwise.

 

Pollution from gasoline engines will kill about 10,000 people a year in the U.S., cause thousands of respiratory disease cases and cancers. Gas engines spew out nitrogen dioxide and acetaldehyde which react with sunlight to increase ozone levels. Ozone is one of the key ingredients in smog.

 

Mark Jacobson of Stanford University in CA, simulated emissions for a 2020 vehicle fleet and found that the numbers for gasoline are topped by the numbers for ethanol. For example, a fleet burning B85 (85% ethanol fuel) could cause an extra 185 deaths per year across the country, with the bulk of those occurring in places like Los Angeles (pictured here).

 

Burning ethanol not only releases the same pollutants as gasoline, but also releases unburned ethanol gas, which breaks down in the atmosphere, forming acetaldehyde and increases ozone levels. Ethanol vehicles will emit fewer pollutants like carcinogens, and they will produce about 20 times as much acetaldehyde.

 

There is a case to say that 185 more deaths a year isn’t as big a deal as the other benefits of kicking the oil habit. But it’s important to list and understand the negatives that come along with new technologies and not just assume that they are going to solve a problem outright. So, perhaps hybrid/ethanol would be an interesting combo.