Ethanol: “One of America’s Biggest Political Boondoggles”
Posted by Joshua Claybourn on 31 July 2007 | one response
I’ve heard anecdotal comments relating to this before, but now a new article in Rolling Stone seems to confirm that ethanol hurts the environment and is more expensive than gasoline. Indeed, the evidence seems to suggest that the energy used to produce ethanol far outweighs any environmental advantages, and even after it’s been produced, more efficiency concerns remain.
One Response to “Ethanol: “One of America’s Biggest Political Boondoggles””
I have to agree. America is not Brazil (ie; a smallish country with a tropical climate) and we are talking about corn, not sugarcane (corn energy balance is 1.3-1, sugar energy balance is 8-1).
We are talking about ADM, however. And ADM certainly does not appear to be interested in environmental sustainability. At a time when our nation should be exploring ways to reward crop diversity over yield, corn-based ethanol production takes us in just the opposite directions.
I’m sure others can discuss the economic consequences of letting ADM get its way, as we’ve already seen what its done to Mexico (food riots).