From the article:
The concept of energy return on energy invested:
A major problem with all sources is decreasing EROEI ratio (energy return on energy invested). For oil it used to be 100 a long time ago and now it is somewhere below 20. EROEI for biodiesel is roughly 3 and for ethanol it is not much more than 1. Depending who to believe, EROEI for oil sands is between 2 and 4. Basically anything above 1 makes sense, but because we are used to a high ratio (= cheap energy), we may have a serious problem when the average EROEI of all supplies of oil goes below 5.This is just one more reminder that ethanol is one of the most inappropriate uses of a food source. Absolutely incredible.
Now, even Al Gore, the guy who first promoted it at the presidential level, says ethanol subsidy program was a mistake, but once implemented, next to impossible to kill it due to lobbyists. I guess Al has made all the money he expects in this market and is moving on, trying to regain some credibility.
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