So, you want to use corn to reduce the nation's dependence on foreign oil, huh? Have you thought through all of the ramifications first?
For instance, how are cattle ranchers going to afford to feed their cows, and what might that do to the availability of beef around the country and its price?
Clearly, such issues weren't fully considered before Congress decided to mandate the use of ethanol additives in gasoline as reported by the New York Sun Wednesday (emphasis added):
The country's effort to move away from a dependence on foreign oil and embrace green initiatives appears to be behind a change in one of New York's purest traditions, the menu of the classic steakhouse.
The production of ethanol, which is made from corn, is one major reason classic cuts of prime beef are becoming more and more expensive, an analyst at the cattle market analysis firm Cattle-Fax, Tod Kalous, said.
So, let's look at the results of this ethanol experiment so far, shall we:
- Corn prices have skyrocketed
- Gasoline prices have skyrocketed
- More pollutants are being released into the air given how much dirtier ethanol blends are than unblended gasoline
- Fuel efficiency has declined as ethanol blends get fewer miles per gallon than unblended gasoline
- Meat prices have risen with better cuts less available
- Rainforests are being cleared to make room to grow crops.
All makes sense to me.
—Noel Sheppard is the Associate Editor of NewsBusters.
Editor at Large
Comments Policy
Just the thought of ethanol makes my blood boil
August 8, 2007 - 17:32 ET by RJJust the thought of ethanol makes my blood boil, Noel. It is the perfect example of Governmental interference making a supposed "problem" worse!
Just an addition to your list. In many cases, rainforests are being cleared specifically for palm oil for for ethanol.
Here in Connecticut, ethanol has been mandated by our liberal legislature, even though it is not needed for meeting government pollution standards. It's just a pointless "feel-good" requirement that costs taxpayes more at the pump while actually doing more environmental harm than good. I've also heard that it damages engines....any reports on that?
Ethanol related question
August 8, 2007 - 17:34 ET by LionKingDoes cornfed beef cause gas?
}}---> Return on Ethanol production
August 8, 2007 - 17:38 ET by Cool ArrowSince the return on ethanol production is about nil, we may as well just dig a big pit and chunk the corn into it.
Now what would you call a pit into which you throw corn? Wait, a minute, it'll come to me.
Also, Noel, did you see the recent LA Times article on this?
August 8, 2007 - 17:44 ET by RJAlso, Noel, did you see the recent LA Times article on this? It started as a piece on the 20 percent increase in the cost of beef noodles in China (a staple comparable to tortillas in Mexico) and went on to talk about the harm being caused by the push for ethanol.
Yet, our politicans continue to push for the use of ethanol.....
}}---> The quandary
August 8, 2007 - 17:51 ET by Cool ArrowSo now we can
(a)starve the world and feel good about our carbon footprint.
(b)can feed the world and feel bad about our CO2 footprint.
(c)Grow enough for both and feel very good.
Goreconomics is fun.
I don't think C is a
August 9, 2007 - 09:18 ET by danboI don't think C is a option. The environmentalist will stand in the way of cutting forest, or plowing grass lands.
The very people who push for alternative energy, stand in the way of alternative energy.
They speakith with forked tongue.
"There is a clear attempt to establish truth not by scientific methods but by perpetual repetition."
- Richard S. Lindzen, Ph.D. Professor of Meteorology, MIT
}}---> No Mo Nachos
August 9, 2007 - 09:27 ET by Cool ArrowI'm about to sit down to my last plate of nachos before I start stuffing corn chips into my gas tank.
Sounds good. Nachos may be
August 9, 2007 - 09:54 ET by danboSounds good. Nachos may be banned as wasteful for the environment. Enjoy them while we can. I may make some tonight and do a little BBQing.
In the final days of WWII Germany was pretty much forced to rely mainly on alternative energy. People starved.
The environmentalist have yet to admit they screwed up over DDT. They'll just fly in their private planes over us in flyovercountry as people starve iin the 3rd world.
History repeats itself.
I've got a couple of mangos in the fridg. Maybe some mango salsa to go with the nachos. A Caribbean type nacho. I may not be able to get mangos. As they're not carbon effective here. You have to ship them in. So someone in the tropics will be out of work.
"There is a clear attempt to establish truth not by scientific methods but by perpetual repetition."
- Richard S. Lindzen, Ph.D. Professor of Meteorology, MIT
}}---> danbo
August 9, 2007 - 10:00 ET by Cool ArrowPlease tell me those are locally grown mangos. Elizabeth Edwards and her husband (whom she laments can't become a Black man or a woman) will mention you as a contributing to the National Carbon Footprint.
I'm thinking there's hope for him becoming a woman with minimal plastic surgery.
Not local at all. Big
August 9, 2007 - 10:48 ET by danboNot local at all. Big carbon footprint. But not as bad a Chilean fish.
I have no problem keeping someone in another country employed if he has something I want.
It the Warming BS were fact I should stop buying wines from California, Europe, South America and Australia. And I'd only drink Blanche DuBois which is locally produced.
If we all did that. Nappa is in trouble.
As Blanche DuBois said in "A Streetcar Named Desire"; "I have always depended on the kindness of strangers.”
Warmers would have us turn our backs on strangers in the 3rd world.
"There is a clear attempt to establish truth not by scientific methods but by perpetual repetition."
- Richard S. Lindzen, Ph.D. Professor of Meteorology, MIT
Irony
August 8, 2007 - 18:06 ET by mattmObviously, environmentalism is bad for the environment...
Environmentalism
August 8, 2007 - 19:26 ET by MidAmericaEnvironmentalism is very bad for the poor.
Rolling Stone
August 8, 2007 - 19:46 ET by P.J. GladnickMost of the political observations in Rolling Stone magazine are wacko but they recently had a really good story about what a waste the whole ethanol program is.
I addressed this a couple
August 8, 2007 - 19:57 ET by drillanwrI addressed this a couple weeks ago here. Look for prices to rise on everything that has any sort of corn by-product in it ... And your cereals too.
We have no business making fuel for our vehicles from food sources. Well, maybe refried beans ...
The stupidity of all this
August 8, 2007 - 20:39 ET by Right2thePointThe stupidity of all this is we have un farmed lands corn could be grown on but those lands can't be farmed due to allotments set by the agriculture department.
They never said release the extra lands for ethanol corn production.
Ethanol is a SCAM
August 8, 2007 - 21:18 ET by Special KayMy family of 6, including the dog, have had to cut WAY back on our food consumption. My 15 year old looks like a white Ethiopian.
I went to buy dog food at our local pet superstore and a 40 pound bag had gone up 15% since I last bought it. Bread went up 23% for store brand. I will be buying in bulk at the Wonder Hostess Outlet store. This means I'll have to add to my Carbon Footprint because I'll have to buy another freezer to store it all.
Name Brand cereals are reducing the size of the box and have added almost $1.50 to the price. Store brand cereals went up almost 30% and there are no more Two-fers.
I've taken to shopping late at night, or early in the morning to catch the meat on Manager's Special, which is the last-ditch effort to sell the meat before it spoils. Even those prices aren't all that attractive, but what can I do?
Let's not talk about MILK. Nothing p!sses me off like hearing how "Oh, well we have all these specialty cheeses we have to make now which means we need the milk to make cheese". That's a load of curds. Our local consumer reporter last year sometime (after another price hike on milk) filed a report on how dairy farmers are POURING MILK DOWN THE DRAIN to keep prices artificially inflated and the farmers are getting SUBSIDIES!
My food budget is making me have a cow.
ETHANOL? Let's keep food sources burning in the proper fuel tank, eh?
How about some NUCLEAR power? How about some Coal-to-Gas? Whatever happened to that, anyway, Glenn Beck? How about some Senators running on a treadmill outside my house at night to light my house?
"Interum faeces et urinam nascimur"
The worst is yet to come.
August 8, 2007 - 23:14 ET by MidAmericaThe worst is yet to come. I live in corn country and huge new ethanol plants are under construction. When they come online they will use all the corn for miles around. If there is ever a bad harvest year (they do happen but because there was always an excess you city dwellers never noticed) prices will skyrocket.
Corn is a lot more than cornflakes. Rising corn prices will affect everyone.
Mid america
August 8, 2007 - 23:20 ET by botgWhat? no nachos on your link?
Supreme Court, National Security, Borders, Fiscal Restraint, my litmus test for President.
Nachos
August 8, 2007 - 23:34 ET by MidAmericaYour right!
There must be a zillion and one uses for corn.
Samores
August 8, 2007 - 23:36 ET by botgi didn't look close were they included?
Supreme Court, National Security, Borders, Fiscal Restraint, my litmus test for President.
Well actually they were
August 8, 2007 - 23:52 ET by MidAmericaWell actually they were listed. Nachos are made from corn tortillas. But I didn't know if you have a fragile self-image and need positive reinforcement so I just agreed with you.
Just like in a liberal school where all answers are correct.
Congress flunks science class again.
August 9, 2007 - 03:43 ET by SportPoliticsCongress flunks science class again. They passed emo-ec lib lip flap class, though.
}}---> Wazzup, Sport
August 9, 2007 - 04:02 ET by Cool ArrowOf all the resources in all of the world, there is one that is the least favorable candidate for conversion to energy. The food supply.
Aside from the heartless picture it paints of a bountiful nation, it causes us to work twice as hard for the same amount of fuel.
The Ethanol Myth
August 9, 2007 - 09:06 ET by PopularTechAlternative Fuels Comparison Chart (PDF) (Popular Mechanics)
Ethanol - Test results: E85 vs. gasoline (Consumer Reports)
Ethanol - The ethanol myth (Consumer Reports)
"E85, which is 85 percent ethanol, provides fewer miles per gallon, costs more, and is hard to find outside the Midwest."
This is the biggest problem with ethanol! The BTU rating! Ethanol is only 80,000 BTUs while Gasoline is 109,000-125,000 BTUs and Diesel is 128,000 to 130,000 BTUs. Thus you get more out of a gallon of Gas or Diesel than Ethanol. Who feels like getting WORSE MPG? Ethanol is a scam.
The Anti "Man-Made" Global Warming Resource