tying the energy source to the food source was a bad idea from the beginning.

get rid of corn subsidies, stop allowing our grains from going overseas, and start being smart about consumer education; we are a throw away society and conservation of resources is not on anyone's priority list, even though it should be at the top...no environment=no economy

ethanol from corn is a bad idea (corn is a bad idea in general, IMO) considering how much of our resources are wasted in producing and harvesting a crop that can't grow in this ecosystem on it's own...However, I am a fan of ethanol from more sustainable sources such as switch-grass; a plant that grows here natively and produces more energy per acre than corn ethanol without fertilizer, pesticide or irrigation.

https://bioenergy.ornl.gov/papers/misc/s...
the Cornell article is only 1 study with interesting results, but not conclusive of all studies regarding ethanol...

America's abundance of natural gas is the primary fuel used in producing American made ethanol. Ethanol is truly red-white-and-blue through and through.

Ethanol propagandists, like MissScarlet, biggest talking point is how ethanol reduces foreign oil dependence. This is also one of the biggest lies. It's quite the opposite. Ethanol production uses more energy (including fossil fuels from overseas) than what you get of burning ethanol.

http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/july...

I hardly know where to start with the problems encountered in this article. Ethanol production is intended to reduce our dependence on foriegn oil - not to increase gas milage or save drivers money. It's grown and made in America by Americans. It has accomplished it's goal and should be mandated for the foreseeable future.

The problem with articles such as this one is that they don't provide a straight argument. What is also always the most striking is how gasoline is readily prescribed as being ultimately better. Yet, if gasoline wasn't without its own inherent issues, there would be no need to seek alternatives such as ethanol.

Look, there are plenty of issues that have developed as a result of the growing ethanol industry. Some of these issues deserve every bit of criticism they receive. Yet, so many of the biggest issues stem from the manner in which ethanol is being produced.

What is most troubling about all of this rhetoric toward ethanol is that many people will quickly reiterate these negative opinions. However, there are times that it becomes increasingly apparent that many do so without much critical thought.

For instance, I have heard people voice angry complaints regarding how much they HATE ethanol; only to then see them purchase liquor at the same gas station.

I mean, when someone complains about all the problems that such a chemical will cause to their vehicle, but is then willing to ingest the same substance, who needs logic.

Since this article ran in papers across the country, "ljethanol" is just one of an army of minions that created user accounts and made their first and only posting, which was propaganda for the ethanol industry.

Ethanol isn't just a political scam — it's a dangerous, delusional scam. Ethanol doesn't burn cleaner than gasoline, nor is it cheaper. Our current ethanol production represents only 3.5 percent of our gasoline consumption — yet it consumes twenty percent of the entire U.S. corn crop, causing the price of corn to double.
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As a gasoline substitute, ethanol has big problems: Its energy density is one-third less than gasoline, which means you have to burn more of it to get the same amount of power. It also has a nasty tendency to absorb water.
You can thank ADM and lobbyists for this colossal waste of taxpayer dollars, and for raising prices on many of the groceries we buy.

I do not know what caused you to write your ethanol column for the Gazette but the logic befits one without an education rather than one who is in the position of educating. It also appears you were given a handful of studies and allegations and asked to compile the points into an editorial. A lack of personal research and understanding of the issue is obvious. Following are responses to some of the inaccuricies

Ethanol has lowered the price of gasoline by extending supplies, allowed more efficient oil refining to make suboctane gasoline and is actually cheaper than gasoline to produce.

In many respects. ethanol is superior to gasoline. It burns cleaner, cooler and more efficiently than gasoline.

Ethanol has helped to make farming profitable and has created tremendous economic value in rural America. Increased profit in agriculture allows farmers adapt more efficient and environmentally friendly production practices.

Corn production has increased to accommodate increased demand; a fundamental economic factor.

It takes less water to make a barrel of ethanol than a barrel of gasoline.

Food priced have increased much more due to high energy costs than high prices for commodities. Farm production accounts for less than 12% of retail food prices and corn is only a fraction of that.

Imports and exports of commodities are a positive result of free trade. However the primary reason for Brazilian ethanol imports is not due to protective trade policies but due to a nonsensical concept called Indirect Land Use Change (ILUC).

The reference to ADM's lobbying is silly. Not only is ethanol primarily represented by several grass roots trade organizations but ethanol lobbying costs pale when compared to that spent by multinational oil interests.

Referencing the change in attitude by Senator McCain not only is weak because politicians are known to pander to their audience but is also discounts the possibility that the senator may actually have learned about the issue and realized the many merits of fuel ethanol.

It is long past time to end the subsidized mandates that 90% of our fuel needs by supplied by the huge oil industry and realize that renewable fuels and petrochemicals produced from biomass grown on our soils is a direction we must adhere to.

Another bamboozle from our govt! The stupidity of these morons who push this stuff never ceases to amaze me! In a few years we will be saying the same thing about Obamacare.