… was not well said. I should clarify. In its common meaning, biofuels refers to ethanol produced from agricultural products. At present, ethanol is either cellulose based or starch based. Cellulosic ethanol is derived from sources such as switchgrass, and starch ethanol comes from sources such as corn. My frustration is directed at corn ethanol.

The difference between the two ethanol production techniques is stark. Cellulosic ethanol is costly to process, but it has the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Starch ethanol is cheaper to process, but the processing emits greenhouse gases that more than offset the reduction of emissions when the product is consumed. As a solution for global warming, corn-based ethanol does nothing.

So what does it mean when a candidate claims to support biofuels? It might mean that the candidate recognizes the potential of environmentally friendly cellulosic ethanol, or it might mean that the candidate has been duped by the pseudoscience of starch ethanol. We cannot tell. Obama, to his credit, has a bullet point on his site “Deploy cellulosic ethanol.” But the site also uses the murky expression “advanced biofuels like cellulosic ethanol.” Does that include starch ethanol? We just don’t know.

As far as I can tell, neither candidate asserts that we should stop wasting money on corn ethanol and instead spend it on cellulosic ethanol research, and if you want me to support your position on biofuels, that’s the first thing you’d better say.