The Ethanol Illusion

Harvard Magazine article by Michael B. McElroy: "Americans’ annual consumption of gasoline (for both private and commercial transportation) amounts to more than 140 billion gallons—close to 500 gallons for every man, woman, and child in the country. The price of gasoline is linked inevitably to the price of oil, and there is little Congress or the oil companies can do about that, at least in the short term. Geopolitical considerations, notably the instability in the Middle East, and international market conditions (increased demand from China and India, political uncertainties in Russia and Venezuela), determine the price of oil, recently at an all-time high of close to $78 for a 42-gallon barrel of crude.

But there is a solution, some would claim. Why not replace gasoline with ethanol, the stuff that adds zip to your beer and your gin and tonic, a fuel produced from homegrown corn? But unfortunately, the promised benefits prove upon analysis to be largely ephemeral. It is urgent that we understand the realities before proceeding headlong toward corn-based ethanol as the solution to American energy woes.