E85 Falls Short

We already know that ethanol is only part of the answer to the biofuel question.
BP, a major distributor of ethanol fuel products, is investing $500 million for research into the next generation of biofuels. BP has set up laboratories (The Energy Bio-Sciences Institute) at the University of California at Berkeley, and the University of Illinois.

Selling more ethanol than anybody, BP it doesn't see ethanol as the answer to the alternative fuel question, and they don’t have any plans to make ethanol. At the same time, an increase in the number of ethanol plants in Iowa during the past six years has led to increased air, water and soil pollution, according to the Des Moines Register, June 2007.

Due to several factors, not limited to lower horsepower, and lower mileage, E85 has been slow to catch on among flex fuel vehicle drivers. The so-called cost benefits of ethanol, are based on government subsidies which do more for the farm lobby than the consumer.

The price of corn in July 2007 was at $4.19 a bushel, having increased more than 80 percent in the previous year. In February 2007, corn hit its highest price point in more than a decade at just over $4.50 a bushel.

It's not just corn that's more expensive, higher corn prices have been blamed for driving up food prices at the local grocery store. According to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, food prices have risen nearly 4 percent in 2007 when compared to 2006.