I think it’s been common scientific knowledge for a while now that one way to conserve oil would be to stop ethanol production.  A recent study puts some numbers on it - that ethanol made from corn requires about 29% more fossil-fuel energy to make than it contains.  Clearly a bad investment.  Would you invest in something that had a huge investment and a guaranteed 29% loss?

Apparently that’s a good enough return for the Senate though, which proposes increasing ethanol subsidy in the new energy bill, to double the ethanol output by 2012.  Gee, I trust them to determine whether medical savings accounts are cost effective, don’t you?