Federal Mandated Use of Ethanol is Stupid

[bcmaui]

If the eco media..

http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/apr2008 ... -28-03.asp

And the capitalist media..

http://www.businessweek.com/technology/ ... 225336.htm

can agree this is stupid, why are we still doing this and why will be doing even more over the next 4 years?

Already 1/3 of our corn is being diverted to convert to fuel, and many say it takes more energy to produce than the petroleum it is "saving".

What happens when 2/3 is going to be put into our gas tanks? Even higher food, energy, and beers prices - that is for sure. Diesel fuel is already over $5 per gallon here in Hawaii.

p.s. Did you you know that Australians and (barely) Canadians emit more greenhouse gases per person than those in the USA (as of 2003)? It appears the most eco-freindly solution is to cram 35,000 people in less than a square mile, have a prince pay your cable bill and have most of the cars driving on your roads be from other countries.

http://globalis.gvu.unu.edu/indicator.c ... atorID=199

[Dirk McLargeHuge]

If the eco media..

http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/apr2008 ... -28-03.asp

And the capitalist media..

http://www.businessweek.com/technology/ ... 225336.htm

can agree this is stupid, why are we still doing this and why will be doing even more over the next 4 years?

Already 1/3 of our corn is being diverted to convert to fuel, and many say it takes more energy to produce than the petroleum it is "saving".

What happens when 2/3 is going to be put into our gas tanks? Even higher food, energy, and beers prices - that is for sure. Diesel fuel is already over $5 per gallon here in Hawaii.

p.s. Did you you know that Australians and (barely) Canadians emit more greenhouse gases per person than those in the USA (as of 2003)? It appears the most eco-freindly solution is to cram 35,000 people in less than a square mile, have a prince pay your cable bill and have most of the cars driving on your roads be from other countries.

http://globalis.gvu.unu.edu/indicator.c ... atorID=199

As more corn is being diverted from the food supply, we are probably going to have famine in the poorer countries, because they won't be able to afford food. Millions will die from starvation, but the folks at Archer Daniels Midland will be raking in so much profit, they will look like an oil company.

This is going on the feelings calendar.

[TimC]

I've been saying that for a long time. Biofuels are a great idea, but producing ethanol from corn is about the most inefficient biofuel production there is. The only reason the government is pushing ethanol from corn is because we already grow a shitload of it. Of course, they apparently missed the part where all that corn was ALREADY BEING USED! I live in an agricultural area where a lot of corn is grown, and even the farmers think it is stupid.

[Dirk McLargeHuge]

Global Warming hoohah isn't about saving the Earth. Eco-nazis are just easily persuaded. Global Warming is about corporate profits. The people who make florescent lightbulbs are now able to get more expensive lightbulbs into our homes. Cloth manufacturers are making money selling us canvas bags so we won't throw the plastic ones in the parking lot. And oil companies are making billions (with a b) in net profits every year.

I got a thirty cent an hour raise this year! Woo.

[roger456]

Global Warming hoohah isn't about saving the Earth. Eco-nazis are just easily persuaded. Global Warming is about corporate profits. The people who make florescent lightbulbs are now able to get more expensive lightbulbs into our homes. Cloth manufacturers are making money selling us canvas bags so we won't throw the plastic ones in the parking lot. And oil companies are making billions (with a b) in net profits every year.

I got a thirty cent an hour raise this year! Woo.

Yeah, those nefarious light bulb and cloth manufacturers. Definitely part of the *real* problem. Them and the eco-media.

Corn based ethanol is stupid because it takes more energy to make than comes from the finished product. It's even stupider because you are still generating the greenhouse gasses that come from burnt fossil fuels.

There are also costs that come from plastic bags-- not just that they end up on the ground in the parking lot. It takes petroleum to produce 'em, then you need to ship 'em to the stores.

[Dirk McLargeHuge]

Ok. Shouldn't have mentioned the bag makers. Light bulb manufacturers? Oh yeah.

A couple of years ago, a national pollution watchdog group backed off their opposition to compact florescent light bulbs. They had felt that putting even that tiny amount of mercury into our homes was an unwarranted health risk. They had held that view for decades. Now they say mercury's okay.

Why would a consumer watchdog group concerned for the health of the public suddenly change their mind about something as toxic as mercury? I don't know, but I would imagine a healthy donation to their operating fund might have had something to do with it. And I don't think Al Gore donated it. He's too busy polishing his Nobel and his Oscar(tm). Maybe it was a few light bulb companies?

There is always money behind every law or political movement. Somebody profits. Some folks, like the bag manufacturers, just cash in on the paranoia.

[roger456]

Sometimes you have to make compromises. Mercury is one of the chemicals that is released into the atmosphere when coal and other fuels are burned to generate electricity. Mercury in CF bulbs is better than mercury in the atmosphere and in the ocean (and the fish you eat). We can play gotcha games like this for eternity, meanwhile this is serious stuff. Energy is going to cost more no matter what we do, so we might as well seek ways to conserve it and limit consumption. If I'm wrong, we have a cleaner environment and less dependence on foreign sources of energy.


FWIW, there is a hell of a lot more money behind oil than behind the green movement.

Anyhoo, I think corn based ethanol is stupid. And I'm an eco-capitalist. And paranoid, apparently.

[Dirk McLargeHuge]

Hey! I've been using fluorescents for years! I don't worry about the mercury.

Yes there's more money behind oil than Global Warming hysteria. There's more money behind pharmaceuticals than Global Warming. AThere's more money behind beer distributors than GLobal Warming. My point is, as Will Rogers once said, we have the best Congress that money can buy. Money talks, and you and I don't have that kind of cash.

And using any food source for biodiesel is foolish, and dangerously short-sighted.

Now I'm going to have a beer. What would you like?