Congressional Digest

Excerpt

Ethanol (ethyl alchohol) has been around for centuries, mainly in the form of moonshine, and was used by Henry Ford to fuel the first Model T in 1908. In recent decades, it has been promoted as a promising biofuel to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil. As the industry has evolved, however, competing economic, agricultural, and environmental goals have called into question the costs and benefits of ethanol and the policies that support it.

Fuel ethanol is made by fermenting and distilling simple sugars. It is considered a renewable resource because the energy it creates is generated by using sunlight, which …