Ethanol and other biofuels have been a hot topic the last few years. But now it appears that they have become a hot, controversial topic. While politicians and many in the agribusiness still promote ethanol, economists and environmentalists say it may be doing much more harm than good.
Time magazine called it “The Clean Energy Myth.” They point out the new studies say that “the biofuel boom is doing exactly the opposite of what its proponents intended: accelerating global warming, imperiling the planet in the name of saving it.”
It turns out that when we divert grain and oilseed crops from our dinner places to our gas tanks lots of negative consequences result. Biofuels push food prices skyward and make world hunger even worse. The corn need to fill an ethanol-fueled SUV could feed one person on corn for 365 days. Harvests that could be use to feed people are being used to fuel cars and trucks.
It is certainly true biofuels do reduced energy dependence, but only a little. And the ethanol boom has created rural jobs and enriched farmers and agribusinesses. But when you look at the impact worldwide, you see the drawbacks. Using land to grow fuel leads to destruction of forests, wetlands, and grasslands. These vast regions (especially in Brazil) store vast amounts of carbon and have an important regulatory function in our biosphere.
Environmentalists concerning about global warming also point out another problem with ethanol. Only sugarcane-based ethanol is efficient enough to cut emissions by more than it takes to produce it. The rest of these so-called “green fuels” actually are not green at all. They are net carbon emitters.
Unfortunately biofuels just haven’t turned out to be as helpful as many people thought they would be. I’m Kerby Anderson, and that’s my point of view.
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I'm surprised to read an article so full of misinformation here. I think Mr. Anderson is paying to much attention to the main stream media. The increase in food prices is mainly because of the cost of fuel. Less than 4% of the increase is due to ethanol As an Iowa farmer I can tell you our cost have skyrocketed. Everything - fuel, fertilizer, every impute. Chiefly because are country listens to the so called environmentalists they are ruining the environment by not allowing new drilling or pipelines, no new oil refineries in over 30 years. They do not want nuclear energy. We raise corn and soybeans we have not changed our rotation. There is some good information on ethanol production listed above to bad our writer of this column didn't investigate it before he wrote. People do not eat field corn. I was born in 1934 the heat records set back then still stand. AS we approach the Last Days we will see more and more changes in our climate. Actually the records for this year show a cooling. Click here to reply to this post
RAISING CANE
Posted On: 05/09/08 09:22:15 AM
Age 64, OH
Dear friend, you say, people do not eat field corn. No, people in this nation do not eat field corn. But many starving children in other nations would gladly eat your field corn and many would even eat the corn stalks. We in this nation only eat food if it is "sweet" but the children who are starving in this world do not have that luxury. But it should be obvious that sweet corn could be grown in the field instead of the field corn. To make ethanol out of grain is a stupid thing for us to do. Down in backwards Brazil they know better than this. They take land that is NOT BEING USED and plant sugarcane. Then they make ethanol out of THE WHOLE SUGARCANE PLANT and not just the grain. They are much more efficient at making ethanol and they did not harm the economy or the food situation; but it helped the economy of the whole nation and not just the few farmers who were raising the cane. Lou Click here to reply to this post
Corn based ethanol is good for the USA.
1.Corn can first be used for making ethanol and the byproduct (dried distillers grain) still has feed value that can be fed to cattle and hogs. Plus, refined some more can produce biodiesel!
2.The ethanol industry has created more refining capacity than this country has seen for decades. Remember when something broke at a refinery and we had a hickup in the supply, how prices would spike? We now can create our own fuel supply that is renewable every year.
3.Ethanol lowers the cost you pay for gas. Ten percent of $2.50 ethanol (.25) blended with $3.50 gasoline (90%= 3.15) added together equals the $3.40 that we pay at the pump. Save 10 cents on every gallon you buy!
4.Texas A&M Ag Center study stated: "Despite ongoing negative attention on corn prices, new research supports the notion that higher corn prices have had little to do with rising food costs and have only a small effect on some food items." Most of the increase is the cost of labor, advertising, transportation and other costs.
5.Corn flakes: say 1 box is 40 oz net weight. 1 bushel of corn = 56 lbs or 896 oz. Even if all 40 oz were corn, that is 11 cents for the corn in the box. Corn doubled in price to $5.00 so now the product material costs 22 cents. How much did your box of cereal go up?
6.I grew up as a farmer, but don't farm right now. Isn't it better that farmers earn their income by selling to the market rather than have to rely on government, ie taxpayers, to pay them to produce a crop. Would you rather pay a farmer for gas or an Arab, Iranian, Russian or Venezuelan?
7.As far as a world food shortage caused by biofuel, it is not so. We produce enough food. Many world economies are growing and as people create more wealth for their families, they want better diets, hence the increased demand for food: beef,pork & grains.
8.Global warming: God created a resilient earth. There are warming and cooling cycles all the time. Plant some trees, they consume co2 and give off oxygen and they look great! After a few years, you can cool off in their shade! We are God's stewards of the land. Just do your part and take care of what you own. I will take care of what I own! Click here to reply to this post
CORN FARMERS WOULD NOT BUY ETHANOL
Posted On: 05/09/08 10:03:51 AM
Age 64, OH
You say, we save 10 cents per gallon by adding ethanol to gasoline. But the truth is NOT the truth unless it is the whole truth. We also get about 10% less fuel mileage when ethanol is added to the gasoline. Also we are paying farmers by government subsidies to raise the corn for ethanol because the market price does not justify it. As usual our government is being stupid. We need to learn a lesson from Brazil, a nation many think is backward. They raise sugar cane on land that is not being used for the raising of food and then use the whole sugar cane plant to make ethanol instead of just the grain of the corn. They leave the market determine what they will buy, the gasoline or ethanol depending on the current price and mileage difference. The two compete with each other as they should. If we made ethanol compete with gasoline in this nation, with the current production methods, not even the corn farmers would buy it. Lou Click here to reply to this post
Ethanol
Posted On: 05/08/08 03:23:26 PM
Age 56, AZ
I'm saddened that over 33 countries have begun to suffer starvation before the ethanol issue was taken seriously. In the mid-90's, many people (including myself) attempted to put a halt to this additive. But because we were perceived as environmental extremists, we were ignored even though I'm about as right wing as one can get. I truly hope the Christian community wakes up to the greed for money and political votes involved in this issue and many other issues in this nation. Greed (something God clearly hates) has hindered America from making better decisions.
Think about it, if the church been alert in the 60's, we wouldn't have to be fighting abortion, gay rights, pornography, and gambling either. Click here to reply to this post
Unintended Consequences
Posted On: 05/08/08 03:04:25 PM
Age 51, FL
Once again Gov't has made a mess of things. Subsidize ethanol so a product not economically feasible is produced driving up the cost of production of other goods using the same raw material all for a bogus issue of "man made climate change." Free markets are the only way to distribute goods efficiently. The so called "world food crisis" is being caused by gov't interference by things such as ethanol production subsidies and even more important by tyranical gov'ts using food as a weapon against disenters and ethnic enemies. Haiti's crisis is being caused more by the dock strike and corrupt gov't than a true food shortage. Click here to reply to this post
Ethanol NOT farmer friendly
Posted On: 05/08/08 01:29:53 PM
Age 38, WV
I agree with most of what Mr. Anderson says, with one BIG exception. Yes, some farmers do make a pretty penny from selling their corn for ethanol, but the rest of us are suffering from their "profits". There's a shortage of corn not only for the table, but also for our animals. Being that almost every kind of feed is entirely or mostly made of corn or corn products, we are LOSING out big time. The price of a bushel of corn has gone through the roof! It costs us more now to raise poultry, beef, pork, etc., yet we make no more when we sell. Combine this with rising fuel prices, and you can guess what kind of a pickle we are in! (And here comes hay making time....) Ethanol is doing much more harm than good. Some of us have even sat down and figured the costs of making ethanol verses using regular gasoline... and ethanol is in no means a bargain. It hurts the environment, takes food from the needy, makes farming even less "do-able". Tell me again why we are making the stuff? Click here to reply to this post
Ethanol redefines insanity
Posted On: 05/08/08 01:00:17 PM
Age 37, OH
Burning up our food supply for fuel makes about as much sense as throwing your groceries into the fireplace -- when there's a huge stack of firewood in the yard! Click here to reply to this post
Global Warming - the New Anti-Christ.
Posted On: 05/08/08 12:29:05 PM
Age 48, KS
I do not think man has added one single atom to the Earth - we should think of carbon offsets as the anit-Christ and stop treating the Global warming movement as doing any good what so ever. Click here to reply to this post
What are we missing here?
Posted On: 05/08/08 11:05:58 AM
Age 71, FM
Let's see---suppose I have a feedlot with several thousand cattle to feed. This will take a lot of corn. But, then I don't fatten them on corn but buy mash from an ethonal plant. The alcohol has been removed but the food value remains and can feed cattle, swine, etc. What this means is that the grain designated for feed lots is first used for ethanol and is still used to feed cattle. In other words, there has been no reduction in corn used to feed humans. So, how can this be blamed for the rise in food prices and a shortage of food since the mash from ethanol production is turned into another food sourde, namely meat. So, eat beef--eat green.
The production of ethanol has been developed to the point that manure from feedlots can be used to fuel the boilers, and in effect, we have a closed cycle and the cost for this fuel is much less than the anti-ethanol group would like to claim. Click here to reply to this post
10 # of CORN = 1 # OF BEEF
Posted On: 05/09/08 09:34:21 AM
Age 64, OH
Dear friend, we all know it takes ten pounds of corn to raise one pound of beef. We also know that beef were born to eat grass and NOT corn as the Bible says. Raising beef on corn also takes a lot of man made antibiotics to keep the beef from getting disease. The grass has natural antibiotics in it and the cattle remain healthy when they are fed grass. It if farmer raised corn and then used it to feed beef the whole world would starve. But it seems most farmers do not care about feeding starving people but they care about money instead. Lou Click here to reply to this post
Global Warming is the myth
Posted On: 05/08/08 09:27:04 AM
Age 39, VA
It is true that corn-based ethanol may not be the answer to our energy needs so many were hoping for. But the issue in this piece that strikes a deeper issue for me is...Why do we believe the environmentalists myths? 1. Carbon Dioxide is not a poison, it is a vitally important and necessary part of life on this planet. There is a huge difference between "Carbon" and Carbon Dioxide" and the environmentalists have successfully confused the two. 2. The earth has a natural cycle of cooling and warming, which is largely ignored. Man has not caused the earth to warm it's just a natural cycle. The cooling that has happened over the last year seems to have been mostly ignored by both the major news-media and the environmentalists. Again, I ask why do we fall for these things? Why do we continue to regurgitate these myths? Click here to reply to this post
