Ethanol Fueling a New Economy

Fox News ^ | 5/9/2006 | Staff

[zipper]

Politicians like it because there's no downside for them: they kiss up to the environmental movement and the agriculture lobby at the same time.

[rageaholic]

I like it because ultimately, the arabs will get their fat islamic asses kicked by a vegitable. How lame is that!?

[teletech]

ANYTHING that makes the Arabs EAT THEIR OIL makes me happy!

[CedarDave]

Ethanol backers foresee vast vistas of corn fields churning out feedstock for the clean burning fuel additive running millions of cars in the United States, the world's largest consumer of energy.

I'm beginning to sound like a broken record on this. Does anyone else have an uneasy feeling about growing food crops then using them to power automobiles? And, as I've pointed out numerous times on this forum, what's worse in my opinion is growing such crops in semi-arid Great Plains States (west, generally, of I-35) where water is pumped (better word "mined") from the Ogallala aquifer never to be replaced for thousands of years, if ever. Using irreplacable water to grow food crops to power automobile engines -- what's wrong with this scenario?

There are answers, but it means bucking the agricultural giants like ADM, the politicans, and the business types who see a quick temporary profit to be made while the smaller farmers and communities are well on their way to extinction. It's all about choices.

[MeanWestTexan]

The only issues I see is so much farming is so energy intensive that there is a net loss --- it only works because of tax incentives.

That said, it is probably getting more pratical.

[BurbankKarl]

there has to be a corncob joke in there somewhere.

[Forrestfire]

I've heard that corn is one of the worst crops to use for making ethanol, and that sugar cane/beets produce much more.
I guess that they don't have as powerful a lobby.

[Defiant]

Can anyone explain how difficult it is to turn corn into ethanol--jokes about stills aside? Is it something that people can do on their own, or does it require an advanced refinery?

[HEY4QDEMS]

I guess it's time for me to buy that farm I been dreamin bout.

Funny, about a year or so ago I watched a show how scientists were trying to develop corn that tasted just as sweet but had less sugar to cater to the Atkins craze. I guess now they'll be going back to the labs to attempt to achieve the opposite to cater to the ethanol industry.

[Moonman62]

America's addiction to gasoline.

Even Fox is taking up the Carterism.

[P-40]

is growing such crops in semi-arid Great Plains States

That would be a very non-bright thing to do.

[reluctantwarrior]

bttt and switchgrass is good to, new enzymes actualy double the suger from corn but it is energy intensive to grow...but I prefer to pay a US farmer and starve a Saudi terrorist

[norraad]

Keep dreamin'!

Ethanol = S C A M

Makes as much sense as hula~hoops to those who understand.

Like any fad, it's easy to sell at first with half truth & lies, eventually the cruel facts surface.

[P-40]

I guess that they don't have as powerful a lobby.

They don't. That is the sad thing. The ethanol market has a lot of greedy little fingers in the pie and that is never good for letting the best technology win.

[aimhigh]

With record crude oil and soaring gasoline prices, some experts are worried about how deeply the burgeoning ethanol industry will cut into the food supply.

This has always been my biggest concern. I expect food shortages within 14 years.

[Dark Skies]

Google "homemade ethanol."

[JeffersonRepublic.com]

[Politicians like it because there's no downside for them: they kiss up to the environmental movement and the agriculture lobby at the same time.]

I like it because it means less US dollars funding the oil terrorist.

[MeanWestTexan]

They don't have the right tax incentives.

[Realism]

Like any fad, it's easy to sell at first with half truth & lies, eventually the cruel facts surface.

I don't think were seeing a fad, there's a lot of money being pumped into renewable technology. If the U.S. can take the lead, there's plenty of money to be made globally.