Ethanol industry still favors corn

Belleville (IL) News Democrat

Although other alternatives may be better for cars

BY RENEE SCHOOF
McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON --The nation's new energy law means that corn is likely to rule the U.S. ethanol industry for years, but soaring food prices and questions about whether corn-for-fuel can reduce global warming have sparked a debate about whether the United States is going down the wrong road in the search for alternatives to fossil fuels.

Venture capitalists, oil and ethanol companies and the Department of Energy have pumped billions of dollars into efforts to make ethanol from cellulose, a material found in all plants, in a quest to find an alternative fuel that has less impact on food supplies and on the environment.

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