The USDA chief economist says the outlook for ethanol is poor, which predictably means that the government is going to double down on it. It's the great hope of politicians the world over that they can get a silk purse out of this sow's ear. Outside the circles of politics and industry beneficiaries, though, there's less enthusiasm and more worry.
Jill Richardson posted a great biofuel news roundup over the weekend at LaVidaLocavore where I found this CivilEats interview with Dr. David Pimentel, which summarizes his most recent findings this way:
1) According to recent analysis, it takes 143% more energy to make one gallon of ethanol than is contained in the ethanol itself.
2) If the entire United States corn crop were used for fuel, it would replace a mere 4% of US oil consumption.
3) One of the possible replacements for corn ethanol is called cellulosic ethanol – made from plant stalks, corn husks and other agricultural waste – but this material is even less efficient than corn and takes even more energy to produce.
4) It currently requires 1,700 gallons of water to produce each gallon of ethanol (mostly to grow the corn.)
In place of taking more energy to produce ethanol than is contained in it, read: negative carbon balance. Also, if you've been following this blog, or perhaps just the news, you probably already realize that trading water for fuel at a 1700:1 ratio makes for an unworkable long-term solution. And we would still, as the Energy Justice Network points out in this fact sheet, never meet our energy needs with ethanol.
Read more from - food.change.org