That book is out of date, not just out of print. During the 1990s ethanol producers started using "lignin", normally a waste product of the process, as fuel for the process. The extra energy added has boosted efficiency so that ethanol fuel now contains 25% more energy than it took to produce it. Also....

Ethanol is often made from high-starch plants, like corn or potatoes. It would indeed be a "food or fuel" issue if that were the only feedstock for ethanol. Let me digress....

Oil originally came from biomass. More specifically it came from plant fiber, also known as "cellulose". Cellulose is the most abundant substance made by living things. It is indigestible to humans, and herbivores evolved a wierd sybiotic relationship with bacteria in their stomachs which break down the fibers for them. The potential sources of cellulose are vast. Every plant on earth, nearly, could be used. Some weeds are so prolific they are impossible to get rid of ! You get the idea. Here are some informative links:

1. Understanding Biomass

2. Is Ethanol Energy Efficient

3. Article -- Iogen Meets Milestone Petro Canada retains option to commercialize Canada's first Cellulose-to-Ethanol plant

4. Continued Lobbying Efforts By The Canadian Renewable Fuels Association (“CRFA”) Pays Off

5. Government of Canada Launches Ethanol Expansion Program

6. Backgrounder Ethanol Expansion Program

7. Manitoba's Ethanol Office

8. Saskatchewan had it all along

9. Suncor announces preliminary federal Ethanol funding

10. Eastern Ontario is developing ethanol

11. Analyst for David Suzuki is skeptical

12. Cutbacks on ethanol is the USA

As of Feb.2000 there were no ethanol refuelling stations (E85) whatsoever in Ontario. I have no idea how many there are now. But, all across Canada, there are now over 1000 ethanol fuelling stations. Last time I checked there were only about 600, maybe a year ago. Things are shaping up nicely.

As for the skeptics, they have a point, things ought to be geared toward eventual dominant use of cellulose-to-ethanol technology. But I think it will be. After all, Iogen Corporation already has a pilot plant that does that exact thing.

Unlike David Suzuki, for me it's not about principles or balance or spirituality. Renewable fuels, pollution controls, etc. -- they're engineering problems, and I'm trained to solve them. It's that simple. On top of that some of the most exceptional advances in technology have come from government initiatives that change the standards for engineers that design products. For example, where would we be without building codes? ans: Living in falling-down, ramshackle fire traps.

I think Canada is heading in the right direction.