During a job interview, the recruiting manager from CornBlend Fuels told Jonah that ethanol was a more efficient transportation fuel and was, therefore, environmentally superior to petroleum-derived fuel. Afterwards, in doing his own research, Jonah learned that this viewpoint was disputed. Critics of ethanol-from-corn production cited a recent study, contending that ethanol was in fact more environmentally harmful than gasoline, when considering the amount of land required, the amount of chemicals (fertilizer, herbicides, and pesticides) required, the higher transportation costs incurred, and amount of agricultural wastes generated.