They say ethanol made from other plants not vital for food production is the answer.
Ethanol, made from corn and subsidized by a federal tax break, burns cleaner than other fuels.
Ethanol made the cut, but other newfound catchwords, like biodiesel, hybrid and hydrogen fuel cell, didn't.
In 2007, for example, Congress set quotas for ethanol made from plant matter to displace gasoline.
(Ethanol made from corn takes almost as much energy to produce as it yields).
The possibilities include ethanol made from wood chips, waste paper or agricultural waste like straw and corncobs.
And by stimulating demand for domestically produced ethanol, made largely from corn, the mandate would prop up farmers and refiners.
Included under the same legislative umbrella is crude oil, made chemically from coal, and alcohol (ethanol), made biologically from sugar.
Ethanol made from corn is not a renewable energy source at all, given the way corn is now grown.
Instead of ethanol made from food crops, the partners are devising a version from grasses in the sugar cane family.
Ethanol, made chiefly from corn, now represents about 9percentt of the country's market for liquid fuels.
