I agree with that, given the density of energy in petroleum that Bnick mentioned and the increase in the price of corn since ethanol got "hot." Perhaps with better technology and methods we can improve the return from ethanol, but I don't see it really making a big difference for the US as a whole, and for the entire world I don't see it threatening crude oil unless crude goes way, way higher in price.ChickenLittle: Without government support for ethanol, it would fail. It's just another boondoggle.
My opinion is that we ought to push hard in building more nuclear plants for electricity - if we want to make ethanol, let's use as little oil as possible, and we're using more and more energy all the time on a per-capita basis anyway and of course world population is still increasing substantially.
Also - yes indeed, Bnick - we're going to be burning a LOT of coal and oil in the foreseeable future.
Doug