Are biofuels—especially corn-based ethanol—ultimately worth pursuing?
We’re importing more than 60% of our petroleum, and we need some alternatives. The reality is that corn-based ethanol is the only alternative that’s readily available, because our current infrastructure and technology support it. It’s also the only short-term option that we can produce on a renewable basis. Will corn always be the main feed stock? That’s unclear. But the public also needs to realize that agricultural crops won’t come close to meeting our energy needs. Corn won’t get us off the hook for our consumption habits. If we could convert the energy contained in all of crops that we grow in Maryland into ethanol, it would replace only about 12% of the gas used in Maryland. If we reduced our consumption of gas by 15% it would contribute as much as ethanol.
