Gentlefolk,

Although they are on the agenda (ethanol very much so - $2,000,000,000 annual subsidy), ethanol and other biomass fuels are not a panacea. dicksbro's point about reducing our reliance on imports of foreign oil is well taken, however …

The October issue of Consumer Reports, the article “The ethanol myth” debunks some of the unjustified claims made for this gasoline alternative. Basically, it will cost you more.


In the September issue of Scientific American, in the article “The Rise of Renewable Energy” by Daniel Kammen, even the promise of a reduction in greenhouse gases is called into question. His analysis of ethanol’s impact on greenhouse gas emission is ambiguous, to say the least. “If we use different assumptions about these [agricultural] practices, the results to switching to ethanol [produced from corn] range from a 36% drop in emissions to a 29% increase. Although corn-based ethanol may help the U.S. reduce its reliance on foreign oil, it will probably not do much to slow global warming unless the production of the biofuel becomes cleaner.”

__________________
Eudaimonia