Ethanol after all?

While in Manchester, Iowa, last weekend for my grandmother’s funeral, my son and I, as well as my brother and his wife, stayed at Hansel’s B & B Inn. (I added a summary of the funeral and some remembrances at http://tomstream.blogspot.com/2005/11/my-grandmother.html).

Bob and Neola prepared some great breakfasts, and Bob was interested in my hybrid so I showed him the engine and took him for a drive. Bob has worked in farming, including tractor maintenance. Afterward, we got to talking about alternative energy sources, and he raised an interesting point, that a corn byproduct of ethanol can be used as cattle feed. Sure enough, I found an article about cattle feed and another about ethanol byproduct as a soil treatment:

http://www.matr.net/article-11057.html
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2004/040924.htm

Neola added that the process is becoming more efficient. In his book "The Party’s Over" published in 2003, Richard Heinberg said the most optimistic studies showed only a 34% energy profit and "nearly all of the continental US would be required in order to grow the feedstock."

This new information would mitigate that somewhat. If you can get double-duty out of the land, then perhaps you could make a run at sustainability. Still, I have three concerns:

1. Would it really be efficient enough?
2. According to the Twin Cities Green Guide, livestock consumes 80% of U.S. corn. Animal rights concerns aside, can this be sustained?
3. Ethanol still produces carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, renewing my fears of global climate change. If Peak Oil doesn’t get us, maybe the weather will!