But why would we want to see more of these pumps? At such a horrid energy content, I think the last thing we need is 8mpg E85 Suburbans, or even 12mpg E85 Crown Vic's. How about some 60mpg Avg. Gasoline Hybrids? How about some 65mpg Clean Diesels? Heaven forbid, a plug in hybrid actually appear that gets 80mpg equivalent on regular unleaded.

I dont think putting food in our gastank is the cure to our oil issues.

Nate H., Dover, Ohio

Why is it that everything bad that happens is the fault of Bush, but everything positive is 'no thanks to Bush'. I am no fan of Bush (he's conservative and statist, as a comparison to Obama being liberal and statist), but really? Katrina was somehow caused by bush, and the Energy Act of 2005 has nothing to do with the rise in e85 fueling stations?

Lots of parroting of the "no food for fuel" lines and the "rising cost of food" complaints. I've never seen data to support it.

The reality is that corn isn't food for people. A small percentage of corn becomes breakfast cereal and tortilla chips. The rest -- food for cattle.

If you're worried about energy efficiency or food stream efficiency -- not to mention America's health care costs problem -- simply reduce your consumption of meat. Plenty of corn going on to feed cattle could be used to feed people instead, at a far more efficient rate. The problem is not using corn for fuel -- it's using corn for cattle feed.

In fact, it's more likely that the rising costs of food are directly attributable to the rising cost of fertilizer and shipping food to market (yes, oil) and not the extra demand on corn rippling through.

Is corn ethanol a silver bullet endgame? Nope. But, reducing our consumption of fossil fuels is good, ethanol is net energy positive [barely], and grown in America. If it helps us get ethanol stations up and running, so they're ready when we transition from corn-based ethanol to ethanol created in other ways, then it will have served a great purpose.

stomv- well said

Will S- agriculture is a 'perfectly competitive' industry, meaning that individual farmers that control a tiny tiny tiny fraction of the market share will change their production to make the supply/demand curves consistent. Corn ethanol is a market for corn, just as cattle feed is a market for it.

You want to talk about inefficient use of corn? Cattle can not digest starch. Have you ever seen cow manure? It has bits of corn, because they only digest the protein. Interestingly enough, ethanol production only uses the starch... leaving DDS (the protein byproduct enhanced with yeast). Ranchers/Farmers that use DDS are using the two main parts of the kernel in an efficient manner. So while ethanol only yiels 1.3 times the net energy input into corn, you must also look at the byproducts from ethanol as a potential use...

It's funny how perfectly competitive markets come up with such efficient solutions..............

Hand wring. Frown. Grimace. Moan. Arghh. Just because ethanol made from food (sugar)has been powering 80 percent of the transportation in Brazil for the last 30 years - doesn't mean 1.5 and 2.0 ethanol would work here!

Golly it's:

renewable
made from waste
made from non-food crops on barren land
lower cost than gasoline
lower pollution
domestic
does not send $$ to foreign sources
is not controlled by big oil

Anyone whose really green know this is a dead end.

Bryan,

As someone who has raised cattle, I've seen what pasture patties look like, and a sweeping statement about cattle not digesting starch is incorrect. And so you don't simply take me at my word;
http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/livestock/beef/facts/91-066.htm
http://www.ag.ndsu.edu/pubs/ansci/beef/as1238w.htm

It's Bush's fault. Obama will make it better.

Will S-

A 'pasture patty' would be mostly comprised of grass, yeah?