IT WAS once the hero of the oil industry. The fuel additive MTBE was supposed
to be the answer to air pollution. Instead, it turned out to be a villain,
causing groundwater pollution that has left aquifers from New England to
California reeking. Now, with the US on the brink of banning MTBE, the question
is what will come next.
American farmers are hoping it will be alcohol. Like MTBE (methyl
tertiary-butyl ether), ethanol can reduce emissions from cars. Unlike MTBE,
any ethanol that leaks into the environment quickly breaks down. And farmers
love it because most ethanol is produced…
