Rather than have the "Liberals" vs. the "Conservatives" rant we get here. It looks like we have 'big" oil against "big agriculture" with the rest of us fools, (who get our news from the yellow press and internet), to make some semblance of the thing. In the part of the world where I live, ethanol is a scourge on the farmland, water, problematic in fuels, and I don't see any real cost savings, less air pollution. I do see at lot of cost at the grocery store, and our meat animal production is lower than any time but the 1940's. Best investment is fuel conservation, and a prolonged down turn in the economy. That's why we have lower fuel prices currently. As I say, I am absolutely positive, that fossil fuels create an environmental mess some where, but not in my neighborhood, I am more worried about home, I wish that concern spreads!
Why are we so damn stupid? On one hand we're filling landfills and the ocean with our waste when much of that waste is the same cellulosic material that switchgrass is composed of. Why don't we kill two problems with one solution and put all of our yard waste, all of the cedars that are invading our grasslands and woodlands, all of the highway clippings, all of the old hay bales, all of the hurricane debris etc in the cellulosic ethanol production and not transfer the fertility of our croplands into our gas tanks? There is a holistic answer to this problem that could work. Any decent capitalist could make money with this system if done properly.
Good read. I think when you roll back anything you are going to upset.
Just like the sequestration and other cost burdens to the taxpayers and government....somebody has got to pay the bill.
I say let the free market systems figure out who is paying the bill and scale back government mandates.
I might add that clean diesel technology might be way better than any ethanol solution. I drive a Jetta and a Ford F350 and both you cannot tell they are diesels from emissions and are extremely efficient.
I like the comment that fuel consumption and demand is decreasing. That is a move in the right direction. Consume less!