>“24% more carbon-intensive than gasoline” is not a ringing endorsement for [ethanol fuel]. The US really ought to stop doing this. Ethanol in the current US g

>“24% more carbon-intensive than gasoline” is not a ringing endorsement for [ethanol fuel]. The US really ought to stop doing this. Ethanol in the current US gasoline supply, as I understand it, is not really an energy source. Rather, the purpose is to increase the octane rating. Other octane additives were added in smaller amounts (tetraethyl lead, methyl tert-butyl ether) but they tended to be persistent pollutants, while 10% ethanol is foolproof and non-polluting. But it's bad for food prices: 40% of the US corn crop is used for ethanol. I could be way off, but that's what I heard.