Corn-based Ethanol: It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
May 09 2006
The corn-based ethanol explosion is doing an about-turn of what its
backers intended. The Biofuel manifest destiny acceptance over the
globe is dramatically accelerating global warming. In the last six
months, 750,000 acres of Brazilian rain forest lost in the last six
months. That an imposing number, so is one person could be fed for a
whole year on the corn it takes to fill an ethanol-fueled SUV. Land
taken out-of-use to grow corn-based ethanol, or other biofood-fuels,
are sending the price of food around the world sky-rocketing, and
fueling inflation.
Biofood-fuels boldly are nude world-hunger closer to the extreme brink
of starvation. They've turned out to be environmentally disasterous.
Even so, the President is promoting corn ethanol as the "fuel of the
future." He just sighed a bipartisan energy bill -- a full steam ahead
approach -- establishing Corn-based ethanol as the renewable fuels
fix. Over the long haul, corn-base ethanol and various other biofood-
fuels have brought about a problem that makes an even greater struggle
necessary.
Worldwide investment in biofuels will reach a massive $100 billion by
2010. Investors like GE, George Soros, Ford, BP, Shell, cargill and
others like the Caryle Group, have a big stake in corn-processed
ethanol. So it=92s not just big agribusiness doing all the lobbying and
making all the money. The big players have 'replicated' a biofuel
explosion around the world.
John McCain early on was an outspoken opponent and critic of ethanol.
He turned around in 2006 by pandering to corn-based ethanol lobbyist
in Washington, and McCain went on to urges Bush to waive ethanol
rules. Likewise, members of Congress love corn-processed agrifuels.
Over the past year, Hillary Rodham Clinton has warmed to ethanol. In
May 2008, Clinton said current ethanol production is "a long way from
helping us deal with our gas problems," adding, "We need to be moving
on a much faster track." In 2005 Clinton opposed a vehicle fuel-
efficiency standards, while Barack Obama -- as a senator from a corn-
growing state -- backed it. Clinton voted against the energy bill
itself because it was stuffed with oil industry incentives. But Obama
supported the legislation because it included language that would
double ethanol demand by 2012.
Corn-based ethanol barely scratches the surface to reduce America=92s
dependence on foreign oil. The mounting concern of some politicians is
that biofood-fuels are threatening the nation=92s status as the leading
corn exporter. This means consumers would end up paying more at the
supermarket, and the price of fuel climbing even higher. The ethanol
lobby is very worried about public opinion, they're greasing the
wheels of Congress and commerce to obscure all the negative
consequences and keep front stage, the myth associated with biofood-
fuels.
Lawrence J. Goldstein, member at the Energy Policy Research
Foundation, said: =93Once we have a corn-based technology up and running
the political system will protect it," and Congress should =93step back
and reflect on the damage we have already done.=94 A concerns of some
economists, its explosive growth could threaten exports and livestock
prices.
It's a energy-hungry Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World in a madcap cross-
country rush to find riches and fortune."Now what kind of an attitude
is that, these things happen? They only happen because this whole
country is just full of people, who when these things happen, they
just say these things happen, and that's why they happen! We gotta
have control of what happens to us." -- Ethel Merman (Mrs Marcus)
Branson Hunter
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