John Grant discusses benefits of alternative fuels

John Grant discusses benefits of alternative fuels

by Joe Velarde
UTEP Student Newspaper
April 28, 2006

Caption: Mike Jorgenson fills up his ‘97 Chevy Blazer June 20 in Eagan, Minn., with regular fuel. Jorgenson said he could save big money if he had a flexible-fuel vehicle for his daily 130-mile round-trip commute to work. E85 fuel, a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline, would have saved him 45 cents per gallon if he had a flexible-fuel vehicle.

Americans have an addiction and they just need to say no to fossil fuels and seriously consider alternatives.

Such was the message April 26 from Students for an Informed Democracy and Re-Energize America. The topic of the speech, given in lieu of the continuing Earth Day celebrations, was on energy preservation, an area of growing concern with gas prices nearing $3 a gallon.

“Our mission is two-fold,” said lecturer and campaign manager for Re-Energize America John Grant. “First, we’d like to inform the American public about alternative fuels and two, reduce the fuel dependency of Americans.”

According to the group’s Web site, the nation’s dependence on oil and energy technologies creates a threatening situation, not only to the health of the American people but to the economy as well. “America is simply addicted to fossil fuels,” Grant said. “We need to act now and open up a forum on alternative fuel production.”

Among the many forms of alternative fuels Grant discussed was the use of an ethanol-based product known as E85. According to Wikipedia.com, the fuel consists of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline by volume.

Grant and the rest of Re-Energize America feel that E85 is the key to solving the growing problem with global warming.

Recently, according to Grant, it was discovered that the polar ice caps have decreased by 20 percent in structure – opening up the possibilities of a global catastrophic event. “As powerful a nation as we are, we need to act in a responsible manner when it comes to fuel consumption,” Grant said.

According to statistics made available at NRDC.org, Brazil, a nation of roughly 186 billion people, has recently taken legislative action in employing the production of E85-run vehicles – which has greatly reduced the amount of dangerous greenhouse emissions by 80 percent.

As for the safety of alternative fuels, such as E85, the corrosive agent is known to cause wear to engines built before 1988. According to Wikipedia.com, while it is a weak acid, it can still cause corrosion in some engines whose parts are made up of weak metal and rubber.

Still, the benefits of E85, according to Grant, are that its emissions are significantly lower than conventional fossil fuel.

“Is it dangerous? About as dangerous as conventional gasoline,” Grant said. E85 has both environmental and economic benefits as well, Grant said. “We can produce it, making it a viable resource for the economy,” Grant said.

Recently elected president of the University Democrats Sophia Alonso said that while Grant’s speech was important for everyone in the border region, it was also important for UTEP students – whose young demographic represents a generation in control of the direction of gas emissions.

“It’s important for the students because they’re the future,” Alonso said. “Students need to see that they are in a position to change things around for the better.”

Re-Energize America is a non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C. For more information, go to www.reenergizeamerica.org.

Joe Velarde may be reached at jrvelarde@utep.edu.