The Agriculture Secretary, Tom Vilsack, says the government should move quickly to further jeopardize America’s food sources and expend greater amounts of carbon-emitting energy to produce a less efficient energy source which may, in fact, be detrimental to the machinery that will run on this energy source thus tacking on an additional cost burden to the entire process.
Actually, Vilsack, didn’t say any of that. He spared everybody the boring and mundane consequences that no one really wants to hear anyway by merely saying the government should move quickly to increase the amount of ethanol in gasoline.
We’ve previously been dismissive of the “job creation” brought about by government-subsidized green technology and boy, we’re we wrong. As ethanol shortens the life span of the engines that run on it and burns through fuel hoses quicker than unblended fuel just think of all the jobs that will be “created” at engine manufacturing plants and in the rubber industry trying to keep up with the demand for replacement parts.
Learning something new every day.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
One of those "the debate is over" pronouncements would seem to be in order here
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4 comments:
While in the Midwest, obviously the "take" is somewhat different.
Claims of shortened engine life span are disputed, and the cost of goods sold requiring less fuel for transport out-weigh the lower supply of food supply to make bio-fuels.
Heard both sides of the coin, and still unsure, 'Dawg
Ethanol is actually less efficient than gasoline.
And think about the energy expended to grow a single ear of corn on a single stalk.
And food supply? We've seen food riots in 3rd world countries already on account of effective corn shortages as that corn has been diverted to ethanol production.
As the world population grows, it baffles me to think we are actually burning food when we have a readily available energy source setting under our feet which we absolutely refuse to go after.
We deserve our own fate.
P.S. As a 2nd generation Midwesterner, I don't have a dog in this fight and it still doesn't make any sense.
It's insanity.
Subsidies make no sense, period. If ethanol could compete in the free market, great. But it can't, therefore I know it is inefficient. I don't need to hear any more arguments, because the market has spoken.
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