Okay, so I can’t leave the ethanol topic alone.

I came across an interesting article today announcing a joint venture between DuPont and Genencor which has the possibility of making commercial quantities of cellosic ethanol available by 2012.

No government subsidies were mentioned in the article–a big plus, in my mind.  There’s also a possibility that the process could use wheatgrass.  To me, that means farmers could grow the grain and sell it, then turn around and sell the stubble as well. 

My big questions are how expensive it would be compared to other methods of energy production and how much water it would take to produce it.  I have the feeling that if America ever had to choose between water and fuel, water would win out.

NOTE:  My husband just told me the definition I have of wheatgrass (which comes from my attempts to sprout seeds and grow some of our own food) isn’t the same definition used for ethanol.  Apparently the wheatgrass that would be used for making cellulosic ethanol is just a different kind of grass.