[Chanticleer]

My understanding is that ethanol made from sources like corn and sugar actually costs more to produce than its worth as fuel. If you could cheaply produce ethanol from things like corncobs (especially without adding pollutants to the environment in the process), it might go a long way to making ethanol a more viable fuel. There are several threads on ethanol as fuel (pro and con) on FR by people who have much greater knowledge on the subject than I. I don't think it's junk science, though; I think it has a lot of promise. It might be a piece of the puzzle -- like the bacteria that eat oil used as part of environmental cleanup after a spill.

[Dark Skies]

My understanding is that ethanol made from sources like corn and sugar actually costs more to produce than its worth as fuel.

IIRC, Brazil produces 160,000 NET oil barrel equivalents of ethanol per day from sugar cane and plans to become energy independent mid-2006.

[grey_whiskers]

My understanding is that ethanol made from sources like corn and sugar actually costs more to produce than its worth as fuel.

This is why companies such as Archer Daniels Midland and Cargill are pushing ethanol fuel so hard :-)

Anti-greedy corporation-masquerading-as-environmentalists Sarcasm Torpedo ARMED. FIRE!!

"This is how Cargill works with customers." [Cue to Animal Planet video of a hungry croc emerging from the river to pull a single zebra out of the herd down for lunch...]

Cheers!