Quoted: But unlike corn-based ethanol, cellulosic ethanol can be made from a variety of things that might otherwise be considered waste – sewage sludge, switch grass, ...

Heck yeah, sugar cane is way more efficient then corn

Quoted: DuPont Co. and BP Plc said they were partnering to develop transportation biofuels from such crops as sugar beets that would help cut overall greenhouse gas emissions and reduce reliance on petroleum.

Process for distilling ethanol from corn

Quoted: Our plants produce ethanol by processing corn with technology developed by ICM. A bushel of corn yields approximately 2.8 gallons of ethanol. Our dry-mill process ...

Great article. (thx Brent)

I agree with the primary point - corn based ethanol produced using coal is not as eco friendly as you might think, and the government and industry seems to be pushing for cheaper as opposed to more eco friendly production methods.

Keep in mind, however, that even the worst case is still a step up from gasoline. Quote: "while corn-derived ethanol produced by a coal-fired plant offers a greenhouse-gas benefit of only about 19 percent". Not a huge benefit, but its better then nothing. Additionally, ton for ton, emissions from coal is better then crude oil because we have our own coal. We don't have to import it from an unstable region.