By H. JOSEF HEBERT, Associated Press Writer Mon Jul 10, 5:00 PM ET
WASHINGTON - Ethanol is far from a cure-all for the nation's energy problems. It's not as environmentally friendly as
some supporters claim and would supply only 12 percent of U.S. motoring fuel — even if every acre of corn were used.
A number of researchers, the latest in a report Monday, are warning about exaggerated expectations that ethanol could
dramatically change America's dependence on foreign oil by shifting motorists away from gasoline.
As far as alternative fuels are concerned, biodiesel from soybeans is the better choice compared with corn-produced
ethanol, University of Minnesota researchers concluded in an analysis Monday.
But "neither can replace much petroleum without impacting food supplies," the researchers concluded in the paper
published in the Proceedings of the
National Academy of Sciences.
The paper said development of nonfood materials such as switchgrass, prairie grasses and woody plants to produce
cellulosic ethanol would be a major improvement with greater energy output and lower environmental impacts.