Newest publication and report put out by the Food & Water Watch, the Network for New Energy Choices, and the Vermont Law School Institute for Energy and the Environment holds that yes, corn ethanol is not all that. You can see the report and download it here. I dunno whether this will harken an immediate change in terms of ethanol consumption and production, given certain subsidies and what not, but it does mark another step towards us becoming more conscious of alternatives ill-touted as better alternatives to petroleum.[photo courtesy of Nicktripp]
Here are some of the report's findings:
-Not all biofuels are equal. Corn – now used to produce 95 percent of U.S. ethanol and the only commercially viable ethanol feedstock prepared to capitalize on refinery subsidies in the Farm Bill – is the least sustainable biofuel feedstock of all raw materials commonly used.
-The capacity of corn ethanol to offset U.S. fossil fuel use is extremely limited. Dedicating the entire U.S. corn crop to ethanol production would only offset 15 percent of gasoline demand. Conversely, modest increases in auto fuel efficiency standards of even one mile per gallon for all cars and light trucks, such as those passed by the Senate last month could cut petroleum consumption by more than all
alternative fuels and replacement fuels combined.
-Corn ethanol is the wrong biofuel for combating global warming. The most favorable estimates show that corn ethanol could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 18 percent to 28 percent, while cellulosic ethanol is estimated to offer a reduction of 87 percent compared to gasoline.
-Ethanol is not the solution to revitalizing rural America. While higher commodity prices and cooperatively owned ethanol refineries could be a boon to independent farmers, unregulated ethanol industry growth will further concentrate agribusiness, threatening the livelihood of rural communities - from Oil & Gas Online
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Other tidbits about the rush to ethanol, from people I know in the midwest who make money from this. So much corn is being mandated to be used for ethanol production, to meet the quotas there might be a shortage in feed for livestock (causing higher beef and pork prices), and there might very well be a shortage in corn for human consumption (meaning higher prices). Farmers who should be planting beans and other crops are growing corn to cash in while they can, so there there is likely to be a shortage of those crops(meaning, of course, higher prices). And, my old car expert father tells me that if you drive a classic car (or are poor and have to drive and older model) you should know that ethanol burns the valves in pre 1980 cars, causing (wait for it)..........more pollution. But, since no one in goverment is going to piss off the farm state voters by opposing the ethanol push, I don't see any of this changing.
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