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Friday, May 23rd, 2008
Chicago Sun-Times:
Not long ago, the fledgling ethanol industry was the darling of investors, farmers, the federal government and a lot of Americans who liked the idea of turning corn into fuel.
But suddenly, it doesn’t have nearly as many friends.
Rising worldwide food prices and shortages have spurred calls in Congress to roll back the federal […]
Tug-Of-War Between Global Crises
Friday, April 25th, 2008New York Times:
With signs of a food shortages everywhere, a chorus of concern was punctuated today by a man with a singular view: Ban Ki-moon, United Nations Secretary-General.
“This steeply rising price of food has developed into a real global crisis,” he said, according to wire services. “The United Nations is very much concerned, as [are] […]
Ethanol’s Failed Promise
Wednesday, April 23rd, 2008Washington Post:
The willingness to try, fail and try again is the essence of scientific progress. The same sometimes holds true for public policy. It is in this spirit that today, Earth Day, we call upon Congress to revisit recently enacted federal mandates requiring the diversion of foodstuffs for production of biofuels. These “food-to-fuel” mandates were […]
‘Green’ Lawyer Seeing Red Over Environmental Abuse
Monday, April 21st, 2008“I’d put my money on the sun and solar energy. What a source of power! I hope we don’t have to wait ’til oil and coal run out before we tackle that.” — Thomas Alva Edison
Gary Post Tribune:
The first Earth Day was April 22, 1970. Today, more than half a billion people participate in Earth […]
Can’t Eat Ethanol
Monday, April 14th, 2008Boston Globe:
Corn should be used for food, not motor fuel, and yet the United States is committed to a policy that encourages farmers to turn an increasing amount of their crop into ethanol. This may save the nation a bit of the cost of imported oil, but it increases global-warming gases and contributes to higher […]
Time To End Ethanol Experiment
Friday, April 11th, 2008Post-Bulletin:
Evidence of the negative impact and inefficiency of biofuels, especially corn ethanol, requires an immediate end to their subsidization and potential mandated usage.
The most immediate impact has been felt in escalating food prices. Because corn has been diverted to subsidized ethanol, and less wheat planted to increase this diversion, we have experienced price increases […]
The Worst Moment In History To Demand Biofuels
Monday, April 7th, 2008Enter Stage Right:
This is the worst moment in history to demand billions of gallons of biofuels from our farms.
I told the Sustainable Agriculture students at Iowa State University last month, “Human numbers are still expanding rapidly. With more people and higher incomes, we’d need to double farm output by 2050 even without biofuels. . . […]
US Gasoline Prices Rise To Almost $3.32/Gallon
Monday, April 7th, 2008Reuters UK:
The average price for a gallon of gasoline in the United States rose 5.26 cents to a record high in the last two weeks, and an industry analyst said retail prices would keep rising amid refinery cost increases.
The national average for self-serve, regular gas was $3.3171 a gallon on April 4, according to the […]
The Illusion Of A Clean Future With Ethanol
Friday, March 21st, 2008Ethanol produced from corn is hailed by some as a fix-all fuel that is good for the environment and creates jobs in agricultural states. Will writes that ethanol doesn’t live up to the hype.
NewsHour Extra:
Biofuels are everywhere in Iowa right now, with a massive surge in ethanol production and a widespread belief that ethanol use […]
Burnett Ignores Ethanol’s Role In Higher Food Prices
Thursday, March 13th, 2008CNBC contributor blames ‘energy prices and a weak dollar’ for food inflation but neglects consequences of federal fuel mandates.
Business Media Institute:
Amidst concerns about oil prices and inflation, journalists forget one thing: government-mandated ethanol.
CNBC’s Erin Burnett ignored the effect it has on the price of food at the grocery store on the March […]
Ethanol Doesn’t Make Sense Economically Or Environmentally, Only Politically
Tuesday, March 11th, 2008Daily Reckoning:
The dollar is scarcely worth more than a Swiss franc, which makes a visit to Switzerland extremely expensive. Our hotel - Hotel d’Angleterre - overlooks the lake…a beautiful place, clean, well-decorated and efficiently run place - as you’d expect. The price, with discount, was about $600 a night.
“Couldn’t you find anything cheaper?” was asked […]
The Many Evils Of Ethanol
Monday, March 3rd, 2008Mises Economics Blog:
This MSNBC article notes how the price of wheat is being driven up not just by the devaluation of the dollar, but by “increased demand” for ethanol.
The article fails to mention that the demand for ethanol has not just magically increased on its own, but has increased only because massive government subsidies have […]
Bad Gas Costs Driver $268
Friday, February 29th, 2008KCRG:
We know gas is expensive, but a Cedar Rapids man says he shouldn’t have to pay the $258 it took to fill his tank.
When Rollie Pierson filled up on January 31, 2007 he wasn’t expecting any problems. But, later that night, his 30-day old car wouldn’t start. So he took it back to the dealer.
“They […]
Plug-In Hybrid Cars May Increase Air Pollution
Tuesday, February 26th, 2008AHN:
First it was ethanol fuel. After being hailed as a green energy, questions are now being raised on the wisdom of blending regular fuel with ethanol. The issues raised include raising the price of food to causing more damage on the environment. A similar question is now being thrown at plug-in hybrid cars before the […]
Ethanol’s Hidden Effects
Friday, February 15th, 2008The Register-Guard:
Skepticism about a heavy investment in ethanol as part of a national energy policy has long been justified by concerns that its production consumes more energy than is gained and, more recently, by the effects on world food prices and supplies that follow the large-scale diversion of corn and other staples from the supermarket […]
Studies Suggest Biofuels Can Worsen Warming
Thursday, February 7th, 2008Wall Street Journal:
While the U.S. and others race to expand the use and production of biofuels, a growing body of scientific evidence suggests these gasoline alternatives will actually boost carbon-dioxide levels and thereby aggravate the problem of global warming.
A study published in the latest issue of Science finds that corn-based ethanol, instead of reducing greenhouse-gas […]
Environment Would Suffer From Biofuel
Friday, February 1st, 2008Golden Gate [X]Press:
Many presidential candidates are driving the United States down a dangerous road. For weeks leading up to the Iowa caucus, candidates were talking ethanol. Ethanol can be used to fuel cars and is one of the upcoming alternative fuels to oil. Iowa is a major distributor of corn, which is what ethanol is […]
Ethanol Fuel May Be Eco-Friendly, Put Production Is Not
Wednesday, January 30th, 2008WBKO:
Clean-burning ethanol fuel may have a not-so-clean-burning secret.
Ethanol, made from corn and other renewable resources, is promoted as a fuel that burns cleaner than gasoline and helps reduce greenhouse gas carbon dioxide.
However, it takes a lot electricity to make ethanol, and power companies say the most cost-effective way to produce that electricity is from coal.
Environmentalists […]
Out Of The Gate: Renewable Energy Falls
Tuesday, January 22nd, 2008Houston Chronicle:
The Federal Reserve’s dramatic move to slash a key interest rate by three-quarters of a percentage point on Tuesday was not enough to support renewable-energy stocks, which fell across the board.
The Fed reduced its federal funds rate to 3.5% from 4.25% in the face of global fears of a recession. Oil prices also fell […]
Economic Caca Hits The Fan
Friday, January 18th, 2008OpEdNews:
We all knew it was bound to happen. And now, as has been foretold by many prophets of doom, the economy is tanking… big time.
Just today, the market fell sharply. Dow Jones fell over three hundred points. Thus continues a downfall in the economy.
How could it be any other way? The economy as it is […]