The thought of "independence" or "lesser dependence" on the Middle East for propogating the use Ethanol seems quite overrated. As has been pointed out in the article, ethanol production from sugar, even if only through from a by-product, is water consuming. Using corn or other grains is no good given that it takes about 4-4.5 litres of water for every litre of ethanol.China, as I understand, has already clamped down on corn-based ethanol expansion for both reasons, food prices and water shortage.Brazil will destroy Amazon if the current rate of ethanol expansion continues. Given that corn has replaced soya in the incremental acreage that it has got this year and also that corn requires a lot more nitrogen(Urea), more urea will required. Urea is not exactly in abundant supply and will increasingly come from the Middle East because of the cheap gas out there!!! So much for "independence" or "lesser dependence" on Middle East!!