[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by Natalya

I don't really agree with corn as an ethanol source.

I used to think that way too, but now I see it as another viable option. What I disagree are one-size-fits-all policies favoring a single feedstock.

I don't know enough about the other plants from which it can be produced, but corn monoculture is problematic in the US midwest.

Indeed. But do you think a wider support for sugarcane-based ethanol wouldn't lead to the same problem in other regions? Unfortunately, most of the commercial agriculture is based around monocultures. Anyway, a positive aspect of ethanol is that it can rely on nearly every source of sugar (either sucrose, fructose, maltose, among others), starch and cellulose, so many residues from the industrial processing of food items and a wide array of other cash-crops such as cotton and timber can be used as a feedstock. Sweden has pioneered the commercial production of cellulosic ethanol early in the 20th century relying mostly on residues from the paper industry, for example.

I don't think we need to grow more of it than we already do.

I also don't think more corn would be required, as long as it was integrated to other possible feedstocks as a way to ensure a more stable offer all-year round. That's why I am supportive of corn-based ethanol, as much as I am also supportive of grape-based ethanol, in-between sugarcane seasons. Italian ethanol made out of grape had already been imported here in Brazil as a way to overcome shortages and keep the "regulatory stocks" a couple of times, then I see no reason why the wineries in my state don't receive any incentive to brew it from the pressed grape leftovers.