Quick Hits: Ethanol Myth Persists

Andrew Jeffery  Apr 01, 2008 2:00 pm

Quick Hits: Ethanol Myth Persists
 
Farmers peddle poor substitute for oil.
 

 
Hungry developing nations watch aghast as rich Americans attempt to feed Escalades (GM) and Expeditions (F) with vegetables.

True, ethanol can be mixed with traditional gasoline to power cars. But it's woefully inefficient and expensive to make. Farmers have raced to seed the crop responsible for the alternative fuel -- corn -- in recent years, throwing the world's cost of food into disarray.

But The Wall Street Journal reports American farmers will plant significantly less corn this year than was originally forecast. It appears growers are beginning to reap what they sowed: overextended farming infrastructure and soaring production costs. The U.S. should look to Brazil, whose reliance on the cleaner, more efficient sugar-based ethanol is a model for developing -- and developed -- nations around the world.

Still, the ethanol myth continues to be peddled ad nauseam. Prohibitive fuel prices (and even eco-consciousness) may force consumers to go green, but they'll have to turn the corner with an alternative energy other than corn. Why keep up the charade?
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Comments (5) See All Comments »
04-01-2008, 3:18 pm
Does it need to be said ?

Corn-based ethanol (and the prohibition of imported Brazilian sugarcane-based ethanol) is driven by politics; in particular, by the fact that the first state to choose between Presidential nominees is Iowa, wher
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04-01-2008, 5:11 pm
There seems to be no bottom to the depravity of the SUV/McMansion mentality. We will destroy food in a starving world to fuel our Hummers rather than adopt a sane lifestyle. It makes me ashamed to be an American. As long as the world follows the lead
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04-01-2008, 10:26 pm
The real ethanol myth is being perped by big oil. Argonne National Labratories finds even corn ethanol to be much more efficient than gasoline and with less government subsidies. I am currently buying E-85 for $ 2.49 per gallon. Mileage is about 97%
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04-02-2008, 10:10 am
Wendell,

You make a good point - I think the issue is not so much the actual efficiency of ethanol, but moreover, what its production does to other parts of the economy.

The huge pop in demand for corn has significantly dis
Read More
04-02-2008, 10:21 am
The latest news on world food prices is astounding.
Eqypt and now other countries have stopped exporting food. Saudia Arabia has dropped the 25% import tax on wheat and other food imports. The U.S. food prices are going higher.
We need
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