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This is a myth. While tailpipe emissions are lower, evaporative emissions are higher. At best it's a draw. You're seeing less smog because people are driving m

This is a myth. While tailpipe emissions are lower, evaporative emissions are higher. At best it's a draw. You're seeing less smog because people are driving modern cars with modern emission systems because we live in the future, smog-producing vehicles have been taken out of service, and drawing conclusions based on mere correlation of the two. It has nothing to do with ethanol.

vlovich123 9mo ago
Sounds like someone who’s been fed a line and has believed it. A) why do you think car companies started to need to develop more modern emission systems to begin with? That’s right - California, a huge car market, started creating and enforcing standards through the introduction of CARB. Prior to this car companies had no incentives and weren’t doing this B) there’s more to smog than just cars. CARB tackled emissions across multiple industries. C) average cars last too long. The reason cars modernized was because CARB made owning and operating older vehicles impractical/impossible. D) population and vehicle miles driven kept growing so per unit emissions need to shrink faster than that growth and it did. Thanks to CARB. Is ethanol the primary reason we don’t have smog now? No, but the problem was so bad that CARB took a comprehensive approach at tackling the problem on many angles. And importantly they succeeded. It’s quite a silly position to take that “this problem would have solved itself”. It’s the twin to the fatalism position of “this problem is too big and complicated to solve”
fuzzfactor 8mo ago
>evaporative emissions are higher. Well, if you put the gasoline in an open bucket there are some blends that have a fraction which would evaporate faster because of the alcohol content. This was some of the low-hanging fruit that was addressed when ventilated fuel tanks were deprecated, even while leaded gas had not been replaced. You should have seen the amounts of liquid butane that used to be blended before evaporative emissions were regulated. The problem was, tailpipe emissions only come out when the engine is running, but evaporative emissions from vented fuel tanks were constant 24/7. With the arrival of non-ventilated fuel systems decades ago, it's actually a draw between plain hydrocarbons and alcohol-enhanced gasoline when it comes to evaporative emissions of the vehicle itself. >because people are driving modern cars with modern emission systems Exactly why Ethanol is not the problem that people think when they let rumors or superstition prevail. It's mainly during the time your gas cap is off, when your fuel system is not "sealed" and you are fueling up where the slight differential in evaporative losses would show up if there was careful measurement. You can sometimes even notice more vapors escaping while you are in the process. Put your gas cap on properly and the remainder of 24/7 there will be no difference in evaporative emissions (VOCs) between conventional hydrocarbons and alcohol-enhanced, until you open the gas cap again to refuel. It does add up but the overall difference is so small when you do the math that's why it would be almost a complete draw. >because we live in the future After all, it's all we've got left :) One thing that can help make the future more futuristic is when physical reality can be better recognized over myths and misconceptions.

vlovich123 9mo ago

Sounds like someone who’s been fed a line and has believed it. A) why do you think car companies started to need to develop more modern emission systems to begin with? That’s right - California, a huge car market, started creating and enforcing standards through the introduction of CARB. Prior to this car companies had no incentives and weren’t doing this B) there’s more to smog than just cars. CARB tackled emissions across multiple industries. C) average cars last too long. The reason cars modernized was because CARB made owning and operating older vehicles impractical/impossible. D) population and vehicle miles driven kept growing so per unit emissions need to shrink faster than that growth and it did. Thanks to CARB. Is ethanol the primary reason we don’t have smog now? No, but the problem was so bad that CARB took a comprehensive approach at tackling the problem on many angles. And importantly they succeeded. It’s quite a silly position to take that “this problem would have solved itself”. It’s the twin to the fatalism position of “this problem is too big and complicated to solve”

fuzzfactor 8mo ago

>evaporative emissions are higher. Well, if you put the gasoline in an open bucket there are some blends that have a fraction which would evaporate faster because of the alcohol content. This was some of the low-hanging fruit that was addressed when ventilated fuel tanks were deprecated, even while leaded gas had not been replaced. You should have seen the amounts of liquid butane that used to be blended before evaporative emissions were regulated. The problem was, tailpipe emissions only come out when the engine is running, but evaporative emissions from vented fuel tanks were constant 24/7. With the arrival of non-ventilated fuel systems decades ago, it's actually a draw between plain hydrocarbons and alcohol-enhanced gasoline when it comes to evaporative emissions of the vehicle itself. >because people are driving modern cars with modern emission systems Exactly why Ethanol is not the problem that people think when they let rumors or superstition prevail. It's mainly during the time your gas cap is off, when your fuel system is not "sealed" and you are fueling up where the slight differential in evaporative losses would show up if there was careful measurement. You can sometimes even notice more vapors escaping while you are in the process. Put your gas cap on properly and the remainder of 24/7 there will be no difference in evaporative emissions (VOCs) between conventional hydrocarbons and alcohol-enhanced, until you open the gas cap again to refuel. It does add up but the overall difference is so small when you do the math that's why it would be almost a complete draw. >because we live in the future After all, it's all we've got left :) One thing that can help make the future more futuristic is when physical reality can be better recognized over myths and misconceptions.