The (corn) ethanol debate is firing on all cylinders as we scan stories on Digg. Let us know if you detect a theme. Indeed, it’s tough to find anyone besides politicians and corn-ethanol producers who are for it these days. Our opinion has varied, though we’ve always been bullish on the cellulosic variety and any technology that doesn’t compete with food. We’ve heard of small ethanol producers using recycled alcohol (booze) and sugary drinks as an exclusive feedstock. Not scalable, but every bit helps.
Is Ethanol Production Fueling the Size of the Dead Zone?
Every year a New Jersey-size patch of the Gulf of Mexico where no sea life can be sustained is created by nitrogen-based fertilizer runoff. This runoff comes largely from corn production, which is now tied heavily to the production of ethanol in areas of the Midwest where the runoff comes from. So what can we do about it?
Biofuels Cause 30% to 70% of Food Cost Inflation
German Development Minister Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul said Saturday in Washington ahead of a World Bank meeting that the world needed to reconsider the use of biofuels amid skyrocketing food prices. “Increasing production of biofuels was 30 to 70 per cent responsible for the rapid rise in food prices, she said.”
Here is What They Didn’t Tell You About Ethanol
Deforestation has been found to account for roughly 18 percent of world greenhouse gas emissions and many environmentalists consider the concept of eliminating forest land for the purposes of growing crops for biofuel to be ill considered. So let ’s forget about a future economy based on Ethanol from corn. It ain’t gonna happen!
Beware the Unpatriotic Ethanol Con Men!
Certain television networks, government officials, and biofuel manufacturers are misleading the American people with propaganda that biofuels are somehow “patriotic” and freeing us from dependence on foreign oil.
Critics have been angered by the rapid destruction of tropical rainforests, which have been levelled to allow farmers to grow biofuel crops. Deforestation has been estimated to cause approximately 18 percent of world greenhouse gas emissions and many environmentalists view the concept of wiping out forest land…
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