Energy Future of Liquid Fuel: Why Corn Ethanol Is a Fuel's Errand, The

Robert U. Ayres · Edward H. Ayres

Dec 2009 · Pearson Education

About this ebook

This Element is an excerpt from Crossing the Energy Divide (ISBN: 9780137015443) by Robert U. Ayres and Edward H. Ayres. Available in print and digital formats.

Why biofuels won’t work--except for gigantic agribusinesses and their lobbyists.

If the entire U.S. corn crop were converted to ethanol, the aggregate reduction in total fossil fuel (gasoline) energy consumption would be just 2.4%. Considering that we still want our corn flakes, pork chops (corn feeds hogs), and cooking oil, any realistic level of crop consumption for fuels would do virtually nothing to end U.S. dependence on foreign oil.

About the author

Robert U. Ayres is Emeritus Professor of Economics and Political Science and Technology Management at INSEAD, where he became the first Novartis Chair of Management and the Environment, and founder of the Centre for the Management of Environmental Resources (CMER). His research interests include industrial ecology, environmental policy and technology evaluation, economic growth and environmental regulation, environmental economics, and eco-restructuring.

Edward H. Ayres, founder of Running Times and former editor of World Watch, is author of God's Last Offer: Negotiating for a Sustainable Future.