Doesn't the government already provide a subsidy for ethanol plants. They are spring up in the Midwest because of some incentive, I'd say.
" == Doesn't the government already provide a subsidy for ethanol plants? == "
I don't think they provide a direct subsidy, but they do provide tax and regulatory support for the use of ethanol. However, almost all of this goes to ethanol made from corn, which is not a viable long-term source. I think they should focus on the other technologies I named - ethanol from cellulose instead of sugar/starch, and the development of coal, oil shale, and tar sand petroleum sources. And any such subsidy or price support should have a definite, immutable expiration date. We need to develop the capability, but not another trough for feeding the pigs.