Treehugger.com is an excellent site for environmental issues. In this case, the Treehugger article gives a good introduction to ethanol as fuel, and discusses the differences between corn ethanol (US) and ethanol derived from sugar cane (as in Brazil). Note that the best form of ethanol production IMHO, from cellulose and other biomass, is not quite ready for prime time and needs more R and D. This is a review of the Treehugger article with many other references and links.
sugar cane ethanol production

Chemistry for a sustainable world
(via greenchemistry.wordpress.com)
Submitted by chemrat on Tue, 2007-12-18 11:25. | Tags: nature | corn ethanol | pollution from corn ethanol | problems with corn ethanol | rain forest destruction | sugar cane ethanol production