Give ethanol a chance: The case for corn-based fuel (a Grist essay)

http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2007/6/17/41017/1456

Working Assets is my long-distance phone company. I love it dearly for its combination of business efficiency, social responsibility and progressive politics.

Each month, my phone bill carries alerts that urge me to take action on a specific issue or two. Recent Citizen Actions suggest the gravity of the issues chosen: "Save Our Constitution," "Impeach Dick Cheney," "Close Guantanamo."

This month Working Assets urged me to "Say No to Ethanol."

How did the use of ethanol end up alongside tyranny and torture as an evil to be conquered?

A couple of years ago, I was waiting my turn to speak to a well-attended California conference on alternative fuels. For this gathering, alternative fuels included natural gas, clean diesel, fossil fueled derived hydrogen, coal-fired electricity, as well as wind energy and biofuels. The leadoff speaker, from the California Energy Commission, spoke warmly about all the alternative fuels under discussion. Except one. When it came to ethanol, he visualized his perspective with the metaphor of a giant hypodermic needle from Midwest corn farmers to California drivers. For him and, I suspect, most of California's state government, ethanol belongs in the same category as heroin.

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Ethanol is not the answer for California. Considering the return, it would cost too much to set up the infrastructure for it.

... the price of milk has doubled.

Why?

So, that Archer-Daniels-Midland can make a ton of money producing corn-based ethanol for a "flex-fuel" guzzling SUV.

(I wrote this a while back)

The rise of the Ethanol Giant...
Posted by Javaman in Environment/Energy
Wed Apr 19th 2006, 08:09 PM
As gas prices at the pump begin to sky rocket, moron* and his* room full of dopes begin ranting about the benefits of ethanol, we need to stop and think about what he* is saying.

After reading several editorials/opinions/scientific stats on here regarding ethanol and basically that its production of ethanol isn't cost effective, but yet is still being pushed by moron*,I thought to myself, who exactly would benefit from this?

It's interesting, ethanol can be used in conventional gas engines, however, it doesn't get the same bang for the buck in mileage. So thusly, a person has to buy more of it to get from point A to point B.

Now the production costs of ethanol will be subsidized. But exactly who will be getting the benefits of those subsidies? The average family farmer? Hell no, it will be the Agra-corps.

Since it's the crops that get the subsidies in this nation and not the farmer (as it is in Europe), the Agra-corps stand to make billions on this issue. Then when they have reaped all the money they can stuff into their greedy pockets at the expense of the American driver, the plug will be pulled because the gov't will state that it's taking a huge hit in providing subsidies. And once again we will be right back where we started.

But what really scares the crap out of me regarding all of this is: These Agra-corps hold the patent on many seeds (completely unconstitutional, but that's for another discussion). So this means, even though oil companies hold their drilling rights and leases to certain lands around the world and they along with OPEC control the spigots, there are always one or two nations that don't go along and the oil keeps flowing, abate expensively. However, if one of the big Agra-corps gets all pissy about the price of ethanol, all they have to do is stop harvesting. Sue anyone that uses their seed. Fuel production comes to a screeching halt.

You think OPEC has the U.S. by the balls now? I fear for our future, the one held by the Ethanol Giants.