Complain about a product or service

Ethanol A Waste, Study Concludes

July 18, 2005
Ethanol and biodiesel do not provide nearly as much energy as it takes to create them, according to a new analysis from Cornell and the University of California at Berkeley.

Ethanol • Soaring Egg Prices Blamed on Costs of Fuel, Feed, Chicks • Chicken Prices Headed Up, Tyson Warns • Ethanol Gives Consumers Half a Loaf, Bakers Say • Ethanol-Blended Fuel Blamed for Boaters' Problems • Sales of Ethanol-Burning Cars Up 10% • How Green Can Your Drive Get? • Ethanol Producers Say Rising Food Prices Not Their Fault • Ethanol Driving Up Meat Prices, Congress Told • MIT Gas Saver: Ethanol Turbocharger • Ford Flex-Fuel Claims Challenged • Tests Find Ethanol Cleaner But Not Cheaper • Ethanol Lobbying Disclosures Questioned • Ethanol Benefits Questioned • Chrysler to Step Up Flex Fuel Production • Automakers Want More Ethanol Pumps • Ethanol Increases Consumers' Fuel Bills • Ethanol A Waste, Study Concludes • Ethanol Bandwagon Rolls on in the U.S. Senate

Ethanol production in the United States does not benefit the nation's energy security, its agriculture, the economy or the environment, according to the study conducted by David Pimentel from Cornell University and Tad Patzek from the University of California at Berkely.

The two researchers conclude the country would be better off investing in solar, wind and hydrogen energy.

The research study indicates that the ethanol process requires 29 percent more fossil energy to convert corn into fuel than the fuel it eventually produces. The study also finds it takes 27 percent more energy to convert soybeans into biodiesel fuel and twice the amount for sunflower plants.

Supporters of biofuels argue they are environmentally friendly and burn cleaner than fossil fuels. Ethanol advocates contend the fuel reduces U.S. dependence on foreign oil and offers farmers additional markets for their products.

Ethanol is an additive blended with gasoline to reduce auto emissions and increase octane levels. Its use has grown rapidly since 2004, when the federal government banned the use of the additive MTBE to enhance the cleaner burning of fuel.

About 3.6 billion gallons of ethanol were produced last year in the United States, according to the Renewable Fuels Association, an ethanol trade group.

The ethanol program also cost $3 billion in state and federal government subsidies that go toward production each year.

Report Your Experience
If you've had a bad experience -- or a good one -- with a consumer product or service, we'd like to hear about it. All complaints are reviewed by class action attorneys and are considered for publication on our site. Knowledge is power! Help spread the word. File your consumer report now.

Back to the top |