A new report on sustainable biofuels points out that the U.S. government spent $4 billion in 2008 on subsidies to replace just 2% of the U.S. gasoline supply.

The average cost to taxpayers for the substituted barrels of gasoline was roughly $82 per barrel, or $1.95 per gallon on top of the gasoline retail price.

The use of corn-based ethanol, the report suggests, will not only be difficult and expensive to reach congressionally mandated levels for renewable fuels, but the production itself comes with a slew of negative consequences for humans and the environment.

From the report:

The addition of ethanol to gasoline poses a great risk for human exposure to toxic constituents present in underground storage tank leaks.

Increases in corn-based ethanol production in the U.S. Midwest could cause an increase in detrimental environmental impacts, including exacerbating damage to ecosystems and fisheries along the Mississippi River and in the Gulf of Mexico and creating water shortages in some areas.

Any clearing of forests and grasslands to grow biofuels will add to the release of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere.

...

It is uncertain whether existing biofuels production provides any beneficial improvement over traditional gasoline, after taking into account land use changes and emissions of nitrous oxide. Legislation giving biofuels preferences on the basis of greenhouse gas benefits

should be avoided.





