The corn-to-ethanol insanity offers a real opportunity: It allows an honest forthright politician to step forward, forsake the superficial and predatory support of the ethanol lobby, and stand on the side of honesty, logic and common sense. This is a real moment for a man of integrity to shine amid the dim bulbs of American politics! To make insider corruption, stupidity and self-centeredness the outsiders! To take a real stand! Shine the light on the self absorbed subsidy leeches! Expose and cleanse the lobbyists and educate the population on their subversive and anti competitive selfishness!
Any takers? Only one: Sarah Palin.
Showing posts with label corn. Show all posts
Showing posts with label corn. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Monday, June 20, 2011
Corn: Clean and Green; Illogical and Corrupt
The difficulties the political world presents to the rest of us is well explained in the ethanol mess. Under President Bush it was decided to develop ethanol from corn to use to supplement petroleum in gasoline. The logic was that it would increase our independence of foreign petroleum producers and it burns to CO2 and H2O--clean, clean, clean. What it has become is a metaphor for American politics at its illogical, self-contradictory, country damaging worst.
The rumored real reason for its implementation was to ingratiate republicans to clean air advocates and to the Iowa caucus--both of whose disproportionate influence over American elections is legendary. What has resulted is a nightmare, perfectly predictable if one believes that what is subsidized, grows.
In 2006, 16 billion bushels of corn--14% of the corn crop--went to ethanol production; in 2011, 4.3 billion bushels of corn--33%--of the corn crop will go to the production of ethanol. Corn production now takes up 10% of American arable land. Worse, the energy that goes into the production of ethanol from corn is greater than the energy retrieved by burning it. And the ethanol production requires huge H2O volumes.
What the democracy has done is to divert a huge area of the farming industry into a project that does not do what it promises but will deliver on food shortages, higher energy usage, higher pollution and increased dependence on foreign petroleum producers.
Moreover it has created an infrastructure that must defend it, an infrastructure that must encourage it and special interests that want to increase it.
It has institutionalized corruption and stupidity.
The rumored real reason for its implementation was to ingratiate republicans to clean air advocates and to the Iowa caucus--both of whose disproportionate influence over American elections is legendary. What has resulted is a nightmare, perfectly predictable if one believes that what is subsidized, grows.
In 2006, 16 billion bushels of corn--14% of the corn crop--went to ethanol production; in 2011, 4.3 billion bushels of corn--33%--of the corn crop will go to the production of ethanol. Corn production now takes up 10% of American arable land. Worse, the energy that goes into the production of ethanol from corn is greater than the energy retrieved by burning it. And the ethanol production requires huge H2O volumes.
What the democracy has done is to divert a huge area of the farming industry into a project that does not do what it promises but will deliver on food shortages, higher energy usage, higher pollution and increased dependence on foreign petroleum producers.
Moreover it has created an infrastructure that must defend it, an infrastructure that must encourage it and special interests that want to increase it.
It has institutionalized corruption and stupidity.
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