« Petroleo Brasileiro SA - Petrobras | Home | Looking To The Future: The Potential Of Second-Generation Biofuels »
In US Farm Belt, Ethanol Plants Hit Resistance
By Mr Ethanol | November 13, 2007
International Herald Tribune:
When plans were announced for a new ethanol distillery on the outskirts of this city of 9,000, residents complained that it would mar the view from the municipal golf course. They worried that its emissions would taint the milk-based products made at nearby Century Foods International, one of the community’s biggest employers. They even argued over whether the plant would reek like burned molasses or blackened popcorn or fermenting beer.
The T-shirts opponents printed up told the story: “Good idea. Bad location.”
For years, the arrival of an ethanol distillery in agricultural America was greeted mainly with delight, a ticket to the future in places plagued by economic uncertainty. But in the nation’s middle, the engine of ethanol country, the glow is dimming.
In Kansas, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota and even Iowa, the nation’s largest corn and ethanol producer, this next-generation fuel finds itself facing the oldest of hurdles: opposition from residents who love the idea of an ethanol distillery so long as it is someplace else.
“What they are trying to sell we aren’t buying,” said Deb Moore, who owns a sandwich shop and soda fountain here.
The disputes have left some proposed plants waiting, mired in lawsuits; a few have given up.
Photo: Andy Manis for The New York Times.
Related Posts
- How Ethanol Is Making The Farm Belt Thirsty
- Biofuel Advocates Want To Loosen Rules For Farm Credit
- Ethanol + Floods = More Pain At The Pump
- Motorists To See More Ethanol
- Communities Buck Ethanol Trend
- Early Move On Ethanol Pays Off For Distributor Of Farm Produce
- Brothers Of Invention Make A ‘Cellulosic’ Ethanol Find
- How Ethanol Keeps Oil Prices Low
- U.S. Gas Prices Jump More Than 11 Cents
- Is The Bio-fuels Industry Ready To Cut The Government Apron Strings?
New Way Of Making Easy Money Online