Ethanol? Please. There are many worthy endeavors to try but using food sources as energy isn't one. All that does is drive up food prices.

Energy independence in this country is critical. We need ethanol from corn and from corn cobs today - switchgrass, methane, and other sourcese tomorrow. Ethanol from corn leaves distiller grain byproducts behind which are fed to cattle and are more nutritious than starch-heavy corn, anyway. Ethanol has kept Brazil energy-independent for the last 8 years - let's get with the program!

GM 's sudden stewardship of the environment is simply a way to continue to make gas guzzlers thanks to E85 an extremely inefficient fuel. The CAFE standards call for all car companies to achieve an average MPG for all vehicles. I believe the most recent number is 27 MPG. Well if you make the biggest money off of 10 miles per gallon SUV's you would hate to say good bye to them wouldn't you?
The CAFE standards has a loophole, that being that an E85 vehicle operating on E85 miles per gallon are ONLY figured against the actual amount of gasoline in the blend (15%) if you divide 100% fuel by 15% gasoline you get the multiplier to the mpg (666) therefore a gas guzzling 10 MPG SUV is given credit for 66.6 MPG. If you sell one SUV like this you can have 5 vehicles only achieving 20 MPG and this gas guzzling SUV and you average more than 27 MPG overall while not one of their vehicles really met the standard.
GM is not the only one taking advantage of this free ride Ford and Chrysler are too. The big three are heading down the toilet and this is just their hands clinging to the rim.

Jay, Rich: ethanol from corn is merely a bridge. Corn prices recently halved from $7/bushel to $3.70. Did your grocery bill drop by half? Of course not. Field corn is not a human food source. Even today fully 10% of the nation's corn crop and 15% of the potential ethanol production are not used. Stop confusing coincidence with causation. Study what Brazil did with its liquid fuels indepedence using waste from sugar crops - then get with the program here to develop sugar and cellulose based ethanol.

When can we get farmers to grow jerusalem artichokes instead of corn? 800 gallons/acre instead of 300 gallons/acre for corn. It would turn every energy study on it's head.
Make every new car flex-fuel, it only cost $50 at the factory.
Blend 34% ethanol in every gallon of gasoline (bye-bye OPEC), possibly better mileage than 100% gasoline. www.ethanol.org/pdf/contentmgmt/ACE_Optimal_Ethanol_Blend_Level_Study_final_12507.pdf

FACT: There is already a mandate for 36 Billion Gallons of fuel grade Ethanol by 2022. 16 Billion Gallons of that has to be from cellulose material.
(HR 6 )

FACT: GM is invested in a Company called Coskata that can make ethanaol from everything from corn cobs to industrial waste to old tires!
http://www.coskata.com/GM-CoskataLaunch.htm

FACT: there are already over 1,900 Stations in over 1,300 Cities in the United States that sell E85
e85prices.com

FACT: It only costs $100 for GM/Ford/Chrysler to change a non flex vehicle to a Flex Fuel E85 capable vehicle.

FACT:President Elect Obama as well as VP Elect Biden both made campaign promises to have all vehicles coming off the auto line to be Flex Fuel Vehicles and would work on implementing that their first year ($100 per vehicle)

FACT" Corn was not the reason food prices went up..that was all myth ..Just do the Math and you see that even on a all corn product that corn is a minor cost..even at an expensive $8 a bu..(corn is now at $3 a bu)

"The Math: $8.00 bushel corn / 56 Lbs = 14 cents. Retail Box of Corn Flakes $3.29 - the corn 14 cents = $3.15.
The reality is the cost of "corn" is just a very small part of food products

14 cents whoopie !

FACT: Flex Fuel Vehicles offer CHOICE to the consumer..YOU decide..do you want to support the Middle east and burn Gasoline or do you want to burn an American fuel.

That's really what ethanol as E85 is really about ..CHOICE ..breaking Oils Monopoly

For 10 years YOU have had NO Choice.. !

Choice create competition which will keep both Industries working for our $ and bringing lower fuel cost no matter ones personal choice of fuels.

Dan McCullough
E85Prices.com

To comment on Brazil vs. US produced ethanol, Brazil's climate is much more suitable to grow sugarcane because it is tropical and receives enough rainfall so that irrigation is not needed. Sugarcane would not be a viable crop (or good for our water sources) to grow in the US due to those reasons.

There are a lot of studies out there proving that corn-derived ethanol is inefficient (just google sustainability, corn ethanol, US). If the US is to invest in ethanol at all, it is going to be through second and third generation technologies or importing energy efficient ethanol from Brazil and other producer countries once we've removed our protectionist policies.

Ethanol is not a panacea. We need more than one technology and source to meet our energy demands while promoting sustainable development (or a 'green' economy).