Just a little over a year ago, ethanol was winning the hearts and wallets of both Dodge City and the rest of the United States, with promises of greater U.S. energy independence, fewer greenhouse gases, and help for the farm economy. Today, the corn-based biofuel is under siege.

In one brief year, ethanol has gone from cure-all to outcast in the eyes of many.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development concluded that biofuels "offer a cure [for oil dependence] that is worse than the disease."

The American Lung Association expressed concern about a form of air pollution from burning ethanol in gasoline.

Last month, the National Academy of Sciences reported on the impact of ethanol production on water supplies. A University of Iowa professor chaired the report committee, so Big Corn might have hoped for a home-court advantage. But NAS reported that, "in some areas of the country, water resources are already significantly stressed . . . Increased biofuels production will likely add pressure to the water management challenges the nation already faces as biofuels drive changing agricultural practices, increased corn production, and growth in the number of biorefineries." When ethanol is criticized by scientists at Iowa's two largest state universities, you have to wonder who is for it.

The amount of water needed to grow the corn, process the fuel and dispose of the waste at a small ethanol plant is about equal to the water needs of a town of about 10,000, according to another report by the Environmental Defense Fund. This report does not even address the amount of water needed to grow the corn.

And although the next five to 10 years may not see major changes to the Plains region's water levels, long-term implications could be severe, says a study from the National Research Council, a Washington, D.C.-based public-policy research institute.

Our County Commissions may have added one year of life to the possibility of an ethanol plant here in Ford County but between the banks who have to lend the money, scientists and just plan common sense at work, perhaps the only investors to be hurt will be Mr. Harshberger and Mr. Coffin.