I'm going to have to agree with FI on this. Surgar might be more viable than corn, but it still raises problems. I was watching a news show on PBS. Two of the sugar growers there were bought out, to help restore flow to the Everglades. Also, talked about the polution dumped by them into Lake Okeechobe. So, I'd imagine it to be worst in the Amazon. Also, the enviromental damage due to weather pattern changes.
This is also happening in Indonesia. Peat bogs and other aquafiers are being dug up for Jathropha plants and other plantations. I think the effects down the road won't be good. Thousands of years destroyed for a knee jerk reation.
I still believe that biofuels can be viable. If we look at the waste streams, there is plenty of stuff being dumped. I am think algea oil as the prime source. I also think solar power is gaining momentum. I heard of solar panel plants in Florida being planned by a few of their power plants. Not the best place for them, but they are working in Germany with heavy subsidies.
As far as subsidies, I think they are needed for initial start up. To often they remain a crutch and hinder development or other avenues of possibilties. It isn't always the better mouse trap that gets produced.
Tom