New Ethanol Plants to Be Fueled by Cow Manure

Fueling Controversy

…With gas prices high and the future of world oil production uncertain, interest in alternative fuels is surging.

But ethanol, a fuel now widely used in Brazil, has been the subject of an often polarized debate in the U.S.

The controversy has been playing out recently both in science journals and on energy blog sites such as The Oil Drum.

Proponents like Silicon Valley venture capitalist Vinod Khosla argue that ethanol can replace gasoline, while opponents counter that not enough agricultural land exists to meet more than a fraction of the country’s energy needs.

Cornell University ecologist David Pimentel is an ethanol skeptic and co-author of a study finding that corn ethanol typically costs more energy to produce than it provides.

National Geographic