Since ethanol was invented, it has taken up a good portion of the renewable resources spotlight and created a movement of people backing it from environmentalists, to corn farmers, to the auto industry. In reality the ethanol industry has no “legs” to stand on, so to speak.  The current industry relies on government programs to allow it to be competitive in the current market. Without these programs, it would not be economical. Currently regulations make ethanol cheaper than gasoline, when in reality, it costs more. Because of this, we have created a false market through the use of subsidies and other government influences.

Ethanol is a product created from plant components. Today corn is the prime crop used to produce ethanol. This makes it a very attractive product for corn farmers, allowing them to sell corn at a higher price.  The disadvantage is that ethanol creates a lack of crop diversity and it raises the price in corn, which directly affects the price of food and the price of animal products, due to the increased cost of feed.

Without these government regulations that basically chose ethanol as their sponsored alternative fuel, I think you would see a shift in the market place to be more innovative and find a fuel source that is not an inferior product to gasoline.

To me it seems simple that we could save money by cutting programs that help artificially hold up ethanol. This might lead to more innovation for new fuel sources and realistic prices for corn.