Ethanol
Ethanol is a clean-burning alcohol produced by bacteria that ferment the sugars
in corn and cornstalks. Some environmentalists tout ethanol as a potential
alternative to gasoline. In the U.S., about five million vehicles already drive
on "flex-fuel." They can use traditional gas or E85, a mix of 85 percent
ethanol and 15 percent gasoline. Converting an automobile to flex-fuel is
inexpensive, but there are few ethanol pumps in the U.S. In Brazil, nearly all
cars run on a 96 percent ethanol fuel produced from sugarcane, which is readily
available. Brazilians have seen benefits: not only is it cleaner burning, it is
half the price of imported gasoline.
