Mike,
I do understand your points. I think in order to achieve a less economy dependent on foreign oil and protect our environment is is continue to look for better ways to use our government to our advantage.
If the government mandates ethanol, then we as Americans need to push our government to mandate auto manufactures to engineer engines which perform better with other fuels then oil. I think to get there, a mandate on ethanol will push the automaker industry to explore the idea of supply and demand.
Mike.
Be sure to check out this study on MPG with ethanol. It does point out your concerns.
http://www.ethanol.org/documents/ACE...onomyStudy.pdf
But, A vehicle that averages 30 MPG on the highway would average 29.4 MPG using ethanol-blended fuel, a small price to pay for a cleaner environment.
It’s also important to note that energy from ethanol is not the only result of ethanol production. Coproducts such as distillers grains, gluten feed, carbon dioxide, and corn sweeteners are also created in ethanol production. That means that not all the energy used by an ethanol plant is directed at manufacturing ethanol, thus further improving the net energy balance of ethanol production.
