Environmental group concerned about side effects of ethanol [View All]

[carzen]

Gas pump labels tout ethanol as the fuel that means "cleaner air for Iowa."

While the corn-based fuel does benefit air quality, the process of making ethanol has some ironic side effects that may quell environmentalists' enthusiasm for the emerging industry.

Major concerns include the emissions of ethanol plants that run on fossil fuels and the soil erosion that large-scale corn growing can cause.

The industry has been a challenge to regulate and is a "fairly big emitter of contaminants," said Wayne Gieselman, the administrator of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources' environmental services division.


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