Many students have learned from early partying days that ingesting a substance corrosive as Hawkeye Vodka is physically unhealthy. Pumping gasoline with 10, 15, or 85 percent of a slightly less distilled version of the drink is bad for the health of your vehicle. It corrodes the gas tank and fuel line, especially in cars manufactured before 2001.

Grain alcohol isn’t just bad for livers and cars. It’s bad for the environment, as well as the economy.

Tim Donohue is a bacteriology professor at the University of Wisconsin — Madison who studies renewable energy. Donohue told me that corn ethanol does have advantages over other fuel sources because it burns better, releasing fewer pollutants into the air. He said there are indirect factors to consider as well.