It can save you money and help save the planet. That's what many drivers believe about ethanol fuel. But some say it's a scam.

"This idea that we can replace foreign oil with ethanol is madness," said Author Robert Bryce.

What? We've been told for years, it's the best way to fuel the future. With gas prices on the rise and no relief in sight. A growing number of drivers are opting for flex fuel cars.

Around the world, fuels are being made with everything from grass, to sugar even vegetable oil.

Here in the U.S., it's corn based ethanol that's driving the change.

Drivers are saving a few dollars at the pump and reducing their cars' emissions.

"I think its a step in the right direction."

E-85 is 15 percent gasoline and 85 percent ethanol which can be made from corn and other crops. You can grow it and they're already doing it at farms in Southern Colorado.

Ethanol plants are popping up across the state too.

"I'd like to see it be the thing of the future,' said Robert Mauro, Co-Owner of Mauro Farms in Pueblo, 'I'd like them to build one here."

But there is a cost to ethanol. Right now, some people's grocery bills are higher because of it.

"If you look at labels on food products so many of them contain corn derived product from corn. As the price of corn has gone up, the price of foods that are produced with some use of corn go up," said Harlan Ochs, Acorn Petroleum.

Maybe an okay price to pay if it's going to help the environment. But some say it's barely doing that.

"People who are looking at overall need for energy would say this isn't a good exchange for it," said Ochs.

Some even believe it takes more energy to make ethanol than ethanol creates. But according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, for every 100 units of energy used to make ethanol, we gain 167 units.

Still not enough for some.

"If there is an energy gain from production of Ethanol, it is very slight," said Bryce.

Author Robert Bryce has written a book called, Gusher of Lies: The Dangerous Delusions of Energy Independence.

Fifty-four pages of the book are devoted to what he calls, the ethanol scam. He says there's no shortage of oil in the world, so why shouldn't the U.S. keep using it?

"We are not going to be energy independent. we should not attempt to be energy independent," said Bryce.

But some say it's not about energy dependence. It's about the environmental impact.

President Bush is mandating alternative fuel usage, like E-85 of 36 billion gallons a year by 2022. Here in Colorado, Governor Bill Ritter has set a goal to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent over the next 12 years. The Colorado Corn Association says E-85 is helping us get there. But in the meantime, some worry it's not worth the price we're paying.

"We need to end the ethanol madness. The ethanol madness is costing us in many ways, and the costs are only growing," said Bryce.

Related Information:
Click here to learn more about theColorado Corn Growers Association

Click here to learn more about the Robert Bryce, author of Gusher of Lies. The Dangerous Delusions of Energy Independence Click Here