Did you see the recent cover story on TIME magazine? Ethanol was once again blasted for being too expensive aad energy-inefficient, not scalable, and in fact, creating its own pollution. I still believe we will need more ethanol, and I hope in the future, it will be made from cellulosic materials more than from corn. But at the same time, the public may be less enamored of ethanol than in the past. It is getting more information all the time about the inherent limitations of ethanol (called "deathanol" by investors who have seen their ethanol-linked equities plunge on the back of a glut). "We ought to love ethanol--they run all their ethanol refineries on natural gas," quipped Larry Nichols, CEO of Devon Energy Corp., one of the nation's biggest natural gas producers. He spoke recently in Fort Worth at our largest conference ever, Developing Unconventional Gas. Nichols said corn consumes 40% more fertilizer than any other common crop, and fertilizer is made from natural gas, so that too, increases natural gas demand.
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