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Politicians Rethink Food-Based Ethanol
By Mr Ethanol | May 7, 2008
Christian Science Monitor:
Not too long ago, corn ethanol was being touted as the energy wave of the future for fighting global warming. It was said to be much better than coal and oil, those carbon-based sources of greenhouse-gas emissions.
But lately the drawbacks to this form of energy production have become more obvious, its critics more vocal, its supporters on the defensive.
For one thing, there’s evidence that the rush to produce ethanol made from corn is contributing to the recent rise in domestic food prices.
Late last week, two dozen Republican senators said they wanted to ease the congressionally mandated requirement that more ethanol be blended into the gasoline supply. Among those GOP lawmakers is presumptive presidential nominee Sen. John McCain of Arizona, who’s been critical of ethanol subsidies. A Wall Street Journal article noted that:
The move by the Republican Senate group is the latest sign that Washington’s support for turning corn into motor fuel is wavering in the face of soaring food prices, despite the popularity of ethanol subsidies in farm states critical to the November election…. There are also signs of anti-ethanol backlash at the state level. The governors of Texas and Connecticut have requested that the EPA [Environmental Protection Agency] issue waivers from the mandate, arguing that the ethanol impact on food prices is too onerous.”
Such concern has become global. The World Bank has estimated that corn prices rose by more than 60 percent from 2005 to 2007, largely because of the US ethanol program, combined with market forces. The United States is the world’s biggest biofuel producer, overall.
Looking at the food situation more broadly, several top international food scientists have recommended that the use of food-based biofuels, including ethanol, be halted. Read full article.
Topics: Ethanol, Legislative, News |
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