Biofuels Boom Raises Tough Questions - AP

[Eugene]

Biofuels Boom Raises Tough Questions
By MATT CRENSON
AP National Writer

March 10, 2007, 12:51 PM EST

NEW YORK -- America is drunk on ethanol.

Farmers in the Midwest are sending billions of bushels of corn to refineries
that turn it into billions of gallons of fuel. Automakers in Detroit have
already built millions of cars, trucks and SUVs that can run on it, and are
committed to making millions more. In Washington, politicians have approved
generous subsidies for companies that make ethanol.

-snip-

You'd think that would be good news, but it actually worries a lot of people.

The problem is, ethanol really isn't ready for prime time. The only economical
way to make ethanol right now is with corn, which means the burgeoning
industry is literally eating America's lunch, not to mention its breakfast and
dinner. And though ethanol from corn may have some minor benefits with
regard to energy independence, most analysts conclude its environmental
benefits are questionable at best.

Proponents acknowledge the drawbacks of corn-based ethanol, but they
believe it can help wean America off imported oil the way methadone helps a
junkie kick heroin. It may not be ideal, but ethanol could help the country make
the necessary and difficult transition to an environmentally and economically
sustainable future.

-snip-

Full article: http://www.newsday.com/news/science/wire/sns-ap-ethanol-qa,0,7692142.story

[kestrel91316]

1. Americans could stand to eat less corn (ie HFCS and beef).

We can burn it up in our gas tanks, or we can pack it onto our thighs.

As for me, walking more and eating less is my goal. But I'm weird.

[MADem]

2. Chickenfeed, though....chickenfeed. NT

[kestrel91316]

3. Less chicken would do us all good, too.

(Though I LOVE chicken!)

[MADem]

4. There are plenty out there who have it rarely as a treat.

And it would put it out of reach for them.

This diversion of feed corn has potential, as always, to hurt the least of our brethren.

[kestrel91316]

5. I just don't get why it's so friggin' hard for Americans to

CUT BACK ON DRIVING. And USE MASS TRANSIT, if they have it. And BUY SMALLER, MORE EFFICIENT CARS.

If they all did, the chicken feed prices wouldn't have to skyrocket.

It's not just about biofuels. It's about USING LESS FUEL, PERIOD.

[MADem]

6. Well, I manage. But that's me. Our household, unless we take a long trip

uses maybe a tank of gas a month. In old, but efficient vehicles. We don't drive all over hell to buy stuff we can get locally, too. We combine trips, some of us do a little walking to get stuff (in good weather, to hell with it when it is cold), and we turn off lights and recycle.

But if you are poor, living hand to mouth, paycheck to paycheck, you can't afford an efficient car. You CAN afford that shitbox SUV that the dealer is giving away for a thousand bucks, though. And then, if you have to get to work, and you live in East Jesus with no mass transit and a thirty mile commute, what to do? Drive.

Live closer to work? And pay twice the rent?

There are plenty of people who are just PIGS. Jaguar driving, eight cylinder pigs.

But there are plenty who are just barely getting by, hanging on by their fingernails, squeezed into a lifestyle they'd GLADLY eschew, if only they had mass transit, affordable housing close to their job, a fuel efficient car. They are the ones who will be first hurt by this diversion of feed corn, too...