A summary and interpretation of scientific publications which indicate that using ethanol as a liquid fuel will not improve air quality. This is additional information that must be considered when judging the relative merits of various approaches to alternative fuels. Bioethanol will not solve all of our problem, though, as also reported elsewhere, it could improve economic and political security at the expense of the environment. This is an issue well worth exploring critically. Most politicians seem to have it wrong at the moment, especially with the huge tax breaks that go to extremely inefficient corn ethanol plants.