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Article: Neither renewable nor reliable: increased dependence on ethanol would place the United States at the mercy of a highly volatile energy source.(ENERGY & NATURAL RESOURCES)
- Article from:
- Regulation
- Article date:
- September 22, 2007
- Author:
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Until recently, the process of producing ethanol was widely believed to use more energy than it created. But farming and ethanol conversion practices have improved, and ethanol proponents now argue that it is a sustainable and more secure alternative to gasoline. For instance, a particularly optimistic study conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture--one widely cited by ethanol proponents--estimates that for every unit of energy used to produce ethanol from corn, 1.34 units are created.
Many politicians have embraced the notion that ethanol is a renewable, sustainable energy source. President Bush, after signing the Energy Policy Act of 2005 that included a ...