A New York Times blog has posted an interesting entry on the many different biofuels currently being studied throughout the world. This of course includes corn ethanol, which has been particularly popular in the United States, but also sugar cane ethanol, the primary alternative fuel rising from Brazil, and cellulosic ethanol, the new frontier in biofuels.
For anybody who has done even the most minimal amount of research on biofuels knows, corn ethanol is all hype. Corn ethanol is only marginally cheaper than gasoline and really does not deserve much investment. So then why has the American government invested so much in ethanol research? Politics.
America happens to have a very large contingency of corn farmers and the government has always provided a large amount of support for these groups given their size. Ever wondered why America soft drinks are always produced with High Fructose Corn Syrup whereas in all other nations they are produced with much better tasting sugar? Due to government subsidies to corn farmers and tariffs on sugar, corn is so cheap that soft drink producers would be insane to choose to use cane sugar over High Fructose Corn Syrup. Just recently, the US government has also dumped a ton of funds into research to improve corn ethanol.
Developing ethanol from corn started in states such as Iowa where corn was readily available and did not require transportation. Outside of these particular localities however, corn ethanol is not very promising as an alternative energy source. However given the large number of American corn farmers, the government is investing funds in an unpromising project. The huge amount of government support for corn farmers is now not only inefficient economics but also inefficient science.
On the other hand, at least other governments and research bodies free of political pressure are pursuing other more efficient energy alternatives. Cellulosic engines may even run on garbage! (Back to the future 2 anybody?)
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