Archive for April 21st, 2008
Hippie-dippy ethanol proponents listen up
Tragically misguided motorists have recently been spotted with bumper stickers that read “Biofuel: No War Required”.
It is an interesting commentary, but incorrect. Let’s note the process currently playing out in our own neighborhood.
Inefficient biofuel production sucks up corn supplies at a time when US farmers are planting less. Grain prices rise, albeit not solely because of ethanol. Hungry Haitians riot, pillage, burn and generally wage war. Bumper sticker theory is repudiated.
See how quickly the biofuel argument fell apart? There may be a future salvation from fossil fuel dependency, but it’s not coming in the form of much-lauded ethanol. That seems certain. When something like 30% of the corn crop is needed to displace less than 5% of our current oil/gas needs, the technology is more than inefficient – it’s dangerous.
Perhaps the message needs a caveat.. something like “Biofuel: No War Required (but starvation possible)”
Now, who has an idea for reducing US dependence on foreign oil that won’t destabilize the global food market?
