Good Morning Middle America, your King of Simple News is on the air.
U.S. NEWS: Food and fuel are the darlings of the main stream news these days, about two years after The King of Simple warned my own Federal Senator, Ken Salazar, that the production of ethanol from food stock was a real bad idea. The good Senator returned an e-mail some weeks later and diplomatically informed me that I was wrong and he was right.
President Bush appeared at a news conference yesterday and continues to believe that there is no connection between mandated subsidized ethanol production and diminishing food supplies and rising prices. I had long ago ascertained that this famed Texas cowboy, “George Badlands Bush,” didn’t know a lot, I have now become confident that he doesn’t even suspicion anything.
Let’s rewind just a little to some of my former research on ethanol. When the entire green fuel parade started marching with earnest some three years back, I began to research what I thought sounded like the beginning of a real bad ending. Burning up food to fuel autos just didn’t leave me with a warm fuzzy feeling.
My research took me to Professor David Pimentel of Cornell University who graciously provided me with his research on the production of ethanol that had spanned many years.
Professor Pimentel, along with several other researchers, had come to the conclusion that ethanol, when all factors are considered, was an energy negative product. In other words, it took more energy to produce a gallon of ethanol, than a gallon of ethanol returned. My though, “Well lets not do that anymore.”
Dr. Pimentel also pointed out that if all available farm land in the U.S. were planted and harvested as an ethanol producing crop, the results would provide approximately…are you ready…14% of the auto fuel alone consumed in the U.S.! Putting all of this another way, everyone would starve and 86% of us wouldn’t have fuel to go to the funeral.
Taking the above facts into consideration and being semi-sane, I was finished with my ethanol education. But not our government, they plunged off the high dive into ethanol heaven, the answer to our fuel problems forever…well maybe not.
Our leaders aren’t semi-sane, they’re mad as a hatters and they’re leading the parade. Our government is mandating and subsidizing the production of ethanol, while food prices are skyrocketing and the world has a food shortage!
Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, Republican Senator from Texas, is attempting to muster support for putting a lid on further mandates and subsidies for ethanol. The president isn’t budging at this point because he hasn’t noticed any personal problems at all in the areas of food or fuel. The servants at the White House are still putting on some fine grub and his helicopter and 747 are raring to go, so where’s the problem?
Just one other small point before I call it a wrap for today…food and fuel are not included in the core CPI, consequently, inflation is reported as well under control.
Do me a favor, call or send your Senator an e-mail and ask them to back Senator Hutchinson on this one. Geez. And, Billy Bob, please put up the website link for contacting our representatives again.
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Mike..
They never talk about the real costs, and effects of ethanol.. I suspect they’ve always known it was a bad deal, but didn’t care.. It’s politics.. There was a lot of expensive lobbying by the farm industry.. Wma
Wma,
I could spend an hour with a group of 5th graders giving them real facts and figures and they would come to the conclusion that ethanol is a poor choice for a motor fuel.
What does that say; Congress and our president are not smarter than a 5th grader. Ya gotta love it.
Howdy Mike,
Been a long day, but will be a much more unpleasant one if I don’t chip in I’m afraid. Attached is an address for the senate and the house. The message you are referencing would do more good in the house I believe, but it does not hurt to send an e-mail to both. They are happy to tell you when you have knocked on the wrong door; been there.
http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
Just in case you all missed the latest from Dr. Paul, I have started reading his new book and it is (or should be) required reading for our nation, especially our elected representatives. -bb
Ron Paul April 30, 2008
“Let’s take the country by storm — again
Today is an exciting day for our campaign and our movement: my new book, The Revolution: A Manifesto, is officially released.
Although a short book, it is the product of many years of thought and action. It is a defense of the principles to which you and I have devoted our lives.
My friends are calling it “Ron Paul’s legacy.”
These principles - individual liberty, sound money, the Constitution, and the foreign policy of the Founding Fathers - have had no home in American politics for a very long time. With The Revolution: A Manifesto, I’m letting the establishment know we’re not going away.
Finally, Americans can hear and judge these great American principles for themselves, instead of through an unfriendly media filter. And they can learn once and for all that they need not be satisfied with the phony choices the system offers them every four years. Another way really is possible.
Two days ago I did a book signing in New York at the Borders on Wall Street. All 530 copies had been sold before I even arrived.
They had underestimated you again.
Imagine the attention our cause and our principles could attract with a fantastic opening day today, with people marching into bookstores across the country for their copies. If it should become a publishing phenomenon, The Revolution: A Manifesto can fuel our revolution for a long time to come. You can make that happen.
I hope you enjoy this book, which was a real labor of love for me. Please spread the word.”
It doesnt matter if ethanol is a good sustainable fuel or not, what matters is it makes money for the large multinational corporations involved in farming. Once again all you have to do is “follow the money”. If you do you will see its not the small and middle class farmers making money off of it. It is the large corporate farms, ADM, oil companies, and commodity brokers and speculators that are getting rich.
Hey Mike, I always use “Congress.org” to write to my and other Congresspersons. Ethanol in itself is not the culprit, our government is. Ethanol can and should be produced from non food crops such as Switch grass. Switch grass produces 1180 gallons of ethanol per acre compared to corn’s 380 per acre. Switch grass and other grasses can be grown on non-agricultural lands, does not deteriorate the soil, is harvested up to three times a year, and does not need replanting which makes it much more viable as an ethanol producing crop. The biofuels are needed now to alleviate the oil debacle that Bush and company have created with their “war” and pissing off our other suppliers(Venezuela for one). I do not see biofuels as making up the difference alone but as being one of many changes and technologies we will need to continue to function in a reasonable manner. As for Bush he is obviously certifiably insane and unfit for duty and must be removed with Cheney for us to be able to get anything achieved that will make any difference. We also need to give Congress the proverbial Kick in the, um, head to get their attention and remind them who they are supposed to be working for. Our votes this fall will make more difference now than ever before and we must use them wisely. Have yourself a good one Mike!
Hotrod,
It is important to understand the whole story on ethanol, not the one reported on the main stream news or by the extreme left of right.
And, you are correct in that the farmers are not being subsidized, the ethanol producers are. They have been promised the sun and moon and that is why King George won’t back off.
The subsidy to the farmer is indirect in the way of high commodity prices created from burning our food supply.
The lack of wheat planted when farmers stampeded to ethanol corn has put wheat at world record prices. The farmers are now going back to wheat and soy beans which will push corn ever higher. The dog is now in full pursuit of his tail.
Michael,
I’m not sure where your numbers on switchgrass came from, but this is what the Pimentel, Patzek study said: “However, converting switchgrass into ethanol results in a negative energy return (Table 4). The negative energy return is 50% or slightly higher than the negative energy return for corn ethanol production
(Tables 2 and 4).
The cost of producing a liter of ethanol using switchgrass was 54c/ or 9c/ higher than the 45c/ per l for corn ethanol production.”
Most reports fail to add all inputs in order to get an acceptable output.
I watched a program titled “The Deadly Brew, the human tragedy of ethanol.” It looked into the near slave labor utilized in Brazil to produce ethanol.
The world is running out of oil and our leaders ran out of brains long ago.
Hey Mike, There is a lot of material out there on Switchgrass and other prairie grasses. A lot of the “scientists” are at odds with Mr Pimentel on his assesment of the viability of these grasses. Most of the actual data from farms in Nebraska and the Dakotas shows 100 gallons of ethanol per ton of harvested grass. The have gotten 5.2 to 11.1 tons of grass per acre. As these grasses are put into greater “mass production” this will probably grow even better. They are native grasses that grow almost anywhere requiring little encouragement to achieve maximum yields. Naturally the technology to exploit these grasses needs to be improved and will as they move further into it’s growth. I figure if buffalo can convert prairie grass into gas why can’t we. The obvious part of this is that absolutely no crop lands need to be used for these grasses. While ethanol is not quite as efficient as gasoline it is renewable. Ethanol does have a higher octane level and in high performance engines it is actually more economical. I think you and I both know there is no one answer to our energy problems and it will take many different forms of renewable energy to even begin to solve our dilema. The only thing that makes ethanol “deadly” is the embiciles in DC and the greed of our corporate “farmers”. Have a great day Mike!
Michael,
I will forward the entire study to you. The issue wasn’t the growing of switchgrass, it was the energy consumed in the conversion process to ethanol.
The reason that the ethanol companies use corn is that it is the quickest way to get from base product to end product with the least consumption of energy.
Remember the old song and movie, “Thunder Road?” Burnin’ blue flame alcohol ain’t anything new huh? Those good ol’ boys won’t run out of fuel!