I like Ethanol...now what

[mtgordon]

I think that Ethanol will be the next big thing. When I say this, I mean (I believe) that it will be a big deal in the next 10-15 years and it will be so for 5-10 years. How is a good way to invest in this? I am 26 years old, am going to throw 8k into a Roth in January (4k for 2006, 4k for 2007), and will have another 50k or so to invest after that.

Any suggestions are appreciated. If you believe that I should just invest in an index fund instead of Ethanol that's a valid suggestion that I'll consider. Also, listing which index funds people suggest investing in would be nice as well.

[hawk59]

all due respect but based on this post you should stay very far away from the stock market right now and only invest your money when you have a basic grasp of investing

[mtgordon]

So your suggestion would be.......?

[Reef]

make sure to put in your $4K roth deposit for 2006 by Dec 31st (I think)

[mtgordon]

I believe (like 95%) that I can do it any time before I file my taxes. Anyone confirm this?

[Reef]

ya, I'm a noob so could someone confirm/deny this

[pig4bill]

Ethanol stocks have already been run up. You're about a year late. BTW, I disagree about the future of ethanol. It's ridiculously expensive to produce, and now that gas is under 3 bucks a gallon, it's not going to have as much demand.

[Off Duty]

Ethanol grown out of US corn takes 14,500 kilo calories per acre to yeald 12,000 kilo calories of ethanol.

The only reason it's in the marketplace PERIOD is because the government subsidises it's existance. And you can thank Karl Rove for that one.

Wanna help the enviroment? Don't use ethanol - it's production speeds up global warming by about 1/7 over conventional fossel fuels.

Electric cars are worse. They loose 50% of the input energy via heat through the charger.

Just another one of those ironic things like people who eat free range chickens because they are 'healthier' are actually perpetuating bird flu.

[mtgordon]

While it may be true that it's the wrong time to invest in Ethanol, I believe you are overlooking some major things in the market.

First of all, subsidises exist and I doubt they're going away any time soon.

Second, I'm pretty sure gas has decent subsidises as well.

Third, ethanol production is getting consistently better and will continue to get cheaper.

Fourth, I'm guessing you are saying that it takes 14,500 kilo calories per acre out of the environment (ie. sun) and yields 12,000 kilo calories of ethanol (obviously other is emitted into the environment due to inefficiencies). Taking oil and the like out of the earth and burning them just adds the stored energy to the 'environment' if you're looking at it that way.

Fifth, heat isn't the big issue, it's the whole affect. Sure, less heat would be better, but it's the heat's inability to escape (in IR form) that is the big issue.

Sixth, electric cars may loose energy in charging, but again it's the overall numbers you need to look at. How efficient is the energy production at the power plant than in an internal combustion engine?

It just seems like you're preventing a lot of things that are true, but don't really mean what you are suggesting.

(disclaimer: I am not an environmental engineer or anything that has done lots of research into these areas so I could be wrong on some of my points)

[captZEEbo]

[ QUOTE ]
I believe (like 95%) that I can do it any time before I file my taxes. Anyone confirm this?

[/ QUOTE ]nah it's tax date...

http://www.google.com/search?q=roth+ira+...lient=firefox-a