Etha"NO"l

Ethanol, is it the hope of the future. Sources say no!! The hype might be a little overripe. Ethanol, touted by Bush and your local politicians is the next best thing to save the country from skyrocketing gas prices. Yes, and you've often heard my opinion on the subject...I'm torn between crying at the pump and smiling in my stock portfolio account because I've owned a number of different oil companies.
Don't believe the Hype
Yep you heard it here, ethanol will not be the wave of the future to save us from the huge energy crunch here in America. There are countless problems that are leading to high prices at the pump. The first is simply SUPPLY and DEMAND. The fact of the matter is (I'm included) that Americans are not great at conserving...simply put we're wasteful. Just live saving for a rainy day, Americans are poor at saving money and conserving energy. The boom of the SUV proved that bigger is definitely better. But I forgot to mention the one area where we don't have control over is the Supply piece. Yep, you guessed the majority of the world's oil is controlled by foreign countries. And I can almost safely say that there is a lukewarm reception about American from most of these countries. It is usually to be a love hate relationship with most of these countries. Countries like Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Venezuela are big players but smaller countries are continuing to make a lot of noise. Both sides have always needed each other, America supplies the thirsty demand and the oil countries SUPPLY the oil whether we like them or not...its okay to say money talk. But what has changed about this scenario...leverage. The oil companies benefit from changing global situations such as Iran and Venezuela speaking out against American at a time where America is preoccupied with bigger issues. The other is the surprising growth of BRIC. That would be Brazil, Russia, India, and China. Again students the growth of these countries has fueled the global DEMAND for oil. And because oil is a beautiful natural resource it has a finite supply. There has even been talk that Saudi Arabia's oil supply has been overstated. And unfortunately for the rest of the world the Saudi's do a great job of keeping numbers like that secret. So a finite resource with increasing DEMAND brings us to where we are at today...Expensive oil. And our policies continue to put us in a bind because countries like China continue to ink deals with countries like Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, and the Sudan to shore up their countries need for the depleting resource.

That brings us finally to ETHANOL. The resource to save the day, maybe not. One of the biggest problems is that if America used 100% of the corn it produces for energy consumption for car, it would still only be able to supply the demand for 7% of the vehicles. To completely rely on ethanol as a source for energy, America would have to use 93% of its land for corn production...not possible. The last piece that I will mention that has been debated is the long term viability of ethanol production. Flat out...its takes more energy to produce say a gallon ethanol than is actually used from that gallon. Food for thought

Put a little Zen in your Birthday

In a effort to do my part to usher in a warm spring we got together and celebrated my roommate's birthday. Even though the weather was a little chilly that night, the fact that it was Cinco de Mayo brought out the best in everyone. Also you'll get a little bonus coverage while you read my review of club Zentra.

Cinco De Mayo

Well nothing says lets have a good celebration like a shot of Tequila...Patron that is. Yeah we had a great turnout for my roommates birthday. I was surprised when an old Boilermaker showed up, I call him Montell Jordan go figure why. We've got the Lake Shore girls who came and celebrated with us. Thanks to all the out of town people that stayed the weekend to live it up.




Bonus Coverage:
Club Zentra get ***1/2 stars for the overall setup. Mainly their main floor level setup is tight. The setup appears to be a mid eastern themed layout with red lights, silk, cushy booths with curtains and a good bar setup. However, the staff at Zentra get * star! The door people are outta control, the host is not very good and this is not the first time that I've witnessed this hear. They are rude at the door, quick to kick people out at times, and the music didn't take off until later in the night. Overall Zentra gets ** stars for being a club with great atmosphere, diverse people, and they have hookahs! These interesting looking contraptions are setup in their reserve tables for group of people who enjoy smoking the flavored tobaccos of the Near Eastern world.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hookah