Experts Debate if Ethanol is a Good Energy Buy

The Southern Illinoisan:
by Donna Farris, lee New Service -- 11/20/2005
"Other energy sources also have an energy balance. To create gasoline, which is a product of crude oil, it takes energy to explore for oil, extract oil from wells, transport it overseas and refine it.
All those processes added up make gasoline an energy loser because a gallon of gasoline contains 26 percent less energy than it takes to produce.
'Philosophically, we've decided that that's OK because we can't use crude oil in our cars,' Lamberty said.
'We're staring at $60 to $70-per-barrel oil. That means it's a lot easier for ethanol to compete on an equal basis.'"