Is ethanol a viable alternative to oil?

Reports in the US press suggest that ethanol production could use up to half of next year's corn crop. But is corn ethanol really a practical solution to our energy needs?

Did you know that corn is a type of food? If you do, then you may have keener insight than some people who write headlines at The New York Times. I mention this because of the rather curious headline above a Jan. 5, 2007 article in the business section of the Times:

'Rise in Ethanol Raises Concerns about Corn as a Food.' Huh? OK, let me see if I follow the logic. The background issue is that the world needs to find substitutes for its depleting supplies of oil and natural gas. We know that. We also know that ethanol is one of those potential oil substitutes. People have been running vehicles on ethanol for well over a century. And we know that a lot of corn is presently being diverted to manufacture ethanol. Even so, doesn't corn remain a food first and a fuel second?

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