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Recently the University of Arizona celebrated its use of E85 — 85 percent ethanol, 15 percent gasoline — fuel in vehicles ("UA switching its vehicles to ethanol," Sept. 19). Locally this represents a reduction in emissions for their vehicles, but what about the global picture?

While air quality in Tucson is improved, air quality where corn is grown and ethanol is produced is negatively affected.

The "net efficiency" of producing ethanol from corn in the United States is estimated at 1.35 by a study at Cornell University. This means that for every unit of energy (primarily from fossil fuels) used in the farming and production of ethanol, 1.35 units of ethanol energy are produced. Other studies vary, some reflecting much less net energy value.

Studies of ethanol production do not mention emissions from farm machinery and vehicles used in production and transport of corn, or the emissions, some of which are currently toxic, of ethanol production itself.

Growing more corn to produce ethanol fuel means essentially lowering pollution in cities and moving pollution to farming areas.

The overall net effect may be less pollution globally, but do we know? If using ethanol as a fuel is going to be a "good thing" for both air quality and energy independence, the whole path of production must be considered, not just the end use.

We can do better.

In contrast, studies of Brazilian production of ethanol from sugar cane show much higher net energy efficiency. Brazilian drivers can fill up with either pure ethanol or E85 gasoline at 29,000 filling stations. In the United States, there are only 610 stations selling E85 fuel.

This year, Brazil believes that it will achieve energy independence. In the United States, E85 currently costs more than gasoline, and its production is subsidized.

Sugar cane and other crops that produce higher levels of net energy efficiency than corn will grow in many places in the United States where corn is currently grown. Emphasis on the use of corn is influenced by big agriculture and the Bush administration.

In my opinion, the U.S. production and use of ethanol is not entirely a happy story today and needs much investigation before we choose this path. The use of corn in producing ethanol removes grain from food production and world markets. We do not have enough farmland in the United States to produce sufficient ethanol from corn to make us energy-independent.

Ethanol may offer a better future, but it is not our route to energy independence by itself. Significant new investment by energy producers, including oil companies and automobile manufacturers, is required to make it a more viable source of power.

For now, however, we should not overvalue the use of ethanol for improving air quality or reducing dependence on foreign energy sources.

When looking at this from a helicopter view, the net effect today is small.