Ethanol: Fueling a Rural Revival Today rural America is in
trouble. Low crop prices are squeezing families off the land and
farm populations are declining to unprecedented lows. Many small
towns have trouble maintaining stores and services. At the same
time, oil imports have reached record highs. The US now buys
more than half its petroleum from foreign countries. Already the
largest single contributor to the trade deficit, money for
overseas oil purchases represents income bleeding away from
rural communities. The oil tanker pulling into the harbor and
the small town full of boarded-up storefronts are two sides of
the same coin. The solution to both dilemmas just might be
ethanol (ethyl alcohol), a grain-based fuel that was once the
fuel of choice in the earliest days of the Auto Age. Ethyl
alcohol – the same stuff that puts the buzz in beer, wine and
liquor – is a powerful energy source with a long history as a
vehicle fuel. Henry Ford’s first Model-T was designed to run on
ethanol. Ethanol offers a great o