With gas prices rising or fluctuating on a daily basis, ethanol -- automotive fuel made from corn -- has emerged as an import part of the federal government's plan to solve the energy crisis.

The 2005 Energy Policy Act mandated that 4 billion gal¬lons of renewable fuel must be added to the gasoline supply in 2006 and be gradually increased to 7.5 billion in 2012. While this is a significant increase, it is still only a small percent compared to the average of 140 billion gallons of gasoline that the U.S. currently consumes each year. The lion's share of this renewable fuel has come from ethanol. But with the rise of ethanol production in the U.S. has come a rise in the debate surrounding it. While some environmental experts and advocates argue it could be a key component to reducing pollution and consumption of foreign oil, others argue that it does more harm than good.

Less Energy?

"What (drivers) don't realize is that ethanol is one third less energy per gallon," said Lauren Fix of the Car Care Council. "So if I have a gallon of gas sitting here and a gallon of ethanol, I'm going to get … more energy out of a gallon of gas than on a gallon of ethanol." The way ethanol has been added to the fuel supply is primarily through blends known as E10 and E85. E10, the more common type, contains of 10 percent ethanol and 90 percent gasoline. E85 is a fuel made of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline. According to the Department of Energy, E85 contains 80 percent fewer gum-forming compounds than conventional gasoline, 80 percent less sulfur than typical gasoline and is highly biodegradable, making it less of a risk to the environment.

Can Your Car Use Ethanol?

"Virtually every car on the road runs on E10 just fine with no problems whatsoever," said Matt Hartwig, spokesman for the Renewable Energy Association. "You can immediately go to 14 billion gallons of ethanol without having to worry about infrastructure concerns like the car's engine or gas pumps or anything like that."

However, E85 can be dangerous to some autos. If you are planning on being friendly to the environment next time you are at the filling station by putting E85 into your car, make sure you know if your car can handle it. In order to process anything above a 15 percent ethanol blend, your car must be a flex-fuel vehicle, which has been designed to run on either gasoline or ethanol. Putting E85 into a non-FFV can potentially ruin the entire engine.

"E85 is highly corrosive," said Fix. "So, if you have a non-FFV, and you pump it into your vehicle, you're going to have a very serious, large expense in front of you to the tune of thousands of dollars. Vehicles that don't run on E85, if you do pump it into those vehicles, the problem is it will corrode the fuel lines, the tank, the fuel pump, destroy the fuel filter, etc."

Major auto makers like Chrysler, Ford, General Motors, Isuzu, Mazda, Mercedes, Mercury and Nissan offer over 30 makes and models of FFVs, according to the Flexible Fuel Vehicle Club.

In fact, you may already be driving a FFV and not even know it. Check the inside of your car's fuel filler door or consult your owner’s manual tto see if you have an FFV.

Is Ethanol More Expensive?

Ethanol-free gasoline tends to be about 10 cents more expensive than E10. E85 tends to be about 70 cents cheaper than regular gasoline, but it burns faster. A recent Consumer Reports study found that the flex-fuel 2007 Chevy Tahoe averaged 14 mpg on gasoline and 10 mpg on ethanol. Doing the math and pricing ethanol $3 per gallon and regular gasoline at $3.70, it would cost $300 to go 1,000 miles in a 2007 Tahoe on E85 and $264.29 on regular gas.

Where Is Ethanol Available?

E10 is available in every state, and nearly half of all U.S. gasoline has a 10 percent blend of ethanol. E85 is much more common in the Midwest, where corn is more readily available. For example, Minnesota has over 300 gas stations that sell E85; California has less than 20. Maine, Vermont, New Jersey, Alaska and Hawaii have no E85 stations.

What Kind Of Performance Does E85 Give?

While E85 does burn faster than gasoline, it gives very high performance. According to the Department of Energy, pure ethanol has an octane rating of 113. Regular gasoline has an average octane rating of 87.

"If you are comparing performance and that kind of stuff, E85 is an extremely high performance fuel, and that's why the Indy Racing League runs exclusively on ethanol," said Hartwig.

What Is Future Of Ethanol?

With the federal government's commitment to increasing the amount of ethanol in our fuel supply and the continuing instability of gas prices, it seems that ethanol is here to stay. Hartwig stressed that ethanol is part of the energy solution, not the only solution.

"Today ethanol (is) becoming far more of a viable alternative to gasoline, as will other technologies like hybrids and plug-in hybrids and all of this other stuff that will come. It's ethanol that is the first foot in the door," said Hartwig. "The energy crisis is this country today is such that we can't afford to take any options off the table. Biofuels and ethanol in particular offer us a very logical and a very easy first step."