[DuncanWaring]

This means that by the time you burn 1.3 gallons of ethanol, which is what it takes to equal the energy of a gallon of gasoline, you have actually already burned 1.73 gallons of gasoline simply to produce the cleaner burning 1.3 gallons of ethanol that “replaced” it.

That's allright ... we'll make it up in volume.

< /sarcasm>

[milwguy]

Energy=Prosperity.....that is the simple rule of our economic system. Without cheap, reliable sources of energy, we are back to 40 acres and a mule. NO economy as big as ours can be competitive without enough electricity, natural gas, and gasoline available at a reasonable price.

One need to look no further than our airline and auto industries. If oil was $20 a bbl, does anyone believe this industries would be nearing bankruptcy?

[Swiss]

It don’t take 1.3 gallons of gasoline to make 1 gallon of ethanol. Anybody can guess why?

You don’t use gasoline to make ethanol. The energy used to make ethanol is diesel to operate farm equipment and to transport the corn and ethanol by truck or railroad and natural gas/propane to dry the corn or for use in the ethanol plants. Plus some electricity is used for motors and lights and such.