Ethanol could leave the world hungry

Cnn.com ^ | 8-16-06 | Lester Brown

[Hydroshock]

The growing myth that corn is a cure-all for our energy woes is leading us toward a potentially dangerous global fight for food. While crop-based ethanol -the latest craze in alternative energy - promises a guilt-free way to keep our gas tanks full, the reality is that overuse of our agricultural resources could have consequences even more drastic than, say, being deprived of our SUVs. It could leave much of the world hungry.

We are facing an epic competition between the 800 million motorists who want to protect their mobility and the two billion poorest people in the world who simply want to survive. In effect, supermarkets and service stations are now competing for the same resources.

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This year cars, not people, will claim most of the increase in world grain consumption. The problem is simple: It takes a whole lot of agricultural produce to create a modest amount of automotive fuel.

The grain required to fill a 25-gallon SUV gas tank with ethanol, for instance, could feed one person for a year. If today's entire U.S. grain harvest were converted into fuel for cars, it would still satisfy less than one-sixth of U.S. demand.

[HEY4QDEMS]

If you are growing corn, or any crop for that matter, where the primary means of getting water to the plants is irrigation, you are asking for trouble unless you have one heck of a good water supply.

Perhaps genetically engineered corn, sugar beets, wheat, etc is in order here.

I realize that the USDOA, and FDA will not approve these products for food purposes but maybe they would approve them for fuel.

Engineered crops have shown to produce higher volumes per plant, in shorter amounts of time, without requiring pesticides, in otherwise poor soil, and using less water.

The technology is there, we should use it.

[sportutegrl]

Do you know how many billions of gallons of oil we have offshore of Florida and California? How about ANWR. Drill our own oil.

[ichabod1]

Didn't Coal Gasification almost conquer the world in the 1940s? But will the enviromarxists let us use it?

[Hoodat]

Why not use oil instead? It is already widely available, and supply has never been higher.

[P-40]

At some point, the amounts of these items will become a real issue, not a scare tactic. Are we there yet?

We've been at that stage for decades. We've been growing crops in places in this country that have no business being grown there. We also have some land use techniques that leave a lot to be desired. Growing corn and other crops for fuel is just going to accelerate the reality that we need to make some changes. I'm for doing it now.

Sometimes subsidies, or better yet, tax credits, are needed to get an industry off the ground. Subsidies for growing many crops are just to please a certain voting bloc or group of contributors...but that is another issue. If you read the President's energy bill from 2005, you will find that it is heavy on tax credits based on...performance.

[Hydroshock]

The Germans had a crude form of this in the 1940's. I ahve heard reports of several groups working on this and the price point of as long as oil stays at or above $40 a barrel of it being profitable. Besides the best way I can think of winning the war on terror is cutting the middle east off from money. The USA is the worlds largest holder of know coal reserves.

[rollin]

What is the subsidy to the oil companies in depletion and various other tax incentives?

Also to the other alternative energy suppliers?

Ethanol is not the only thing subsidized.

[P-40]

Do you know how many billions of gallons of oil we have offshore of Florida and California? How about ANWR. Drill our own oil.

I've read the estimates. I also know that from a political standpoint that oil may as well be on the moon.

[HEY4QDEMS]

Drill our own oil

I agree, but I also think that exploration of other technologies is long overdue.

Hydrogen, Solar, Ethanol, BioDiesel etc. are all alternatives that garage tinkerers have made work with little investment or effort, imagine how far these techologies can advance if the people with the right resources get involved and stay committed.

Drill for oil by all means, but lets also put our smarts into not needing oil anymore.

[muawiyah]

Why wait? Ethanol and atomic power plants are here now.

[CPT Clay]

Repeal the farm subsidies... we should never have a surplus again.

[50sDad]

Liberalism: The deep, nagging fear that someone, somewhere is enjoying themselves and doesn't feel bad about it.

[CPT Clay]

Intersting thing about corn stalks. I was in Romania last year and noticed that many of the farmers used cornstalks as te source of winter heat and cooking.

[WV Mountain Mama]

Good, after walking around my local Walmart and Target recently, it looks like a lot of people could stand to go hungry a bit.

[cripplecreek]

I don't think the Romanians have to worry too much about us siezing their corn stalk supplies.

[P-40]

it looks like a lot of people could stand to go hungry a bit.

Or at least go without so much starch in their diets...starch that could be turned into ethanol. But at least those people were out walking...while buying all those goods made in Taiwan and China. :)

[Mr. Lucky]

Actually, the biggest farm subsidy, the Conservation Reserve Program, has just the opposite effect. It's intended to hold land out of production and thereby keep prices high.

So the idiocy of farm subsidies tugs at the ethanol industry from both directions. While the tax credit to the oil industry raises the price of ethanol, the subsidies to the farmer raise the cost of the corn.

[from occupied ga]

Any suggestions for alternatives for oil

Coal synfuel - as far as I know is diesel only, but is relatively inexpensive, and is net energy producer (ie all the energy to produce it comes form the coal)

[from occupied ga]

can't remember them all

[bmwcyle]

Money if finite, land to grow is finite, and so on in the DEMS world.