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Once-Darling Ethanol Losing Friends In High Places
theodp writes "It's now conceivable, says BusinessWeek's Ed Wallace, that the myth of ethanol as the salvation for America's energy problem is coming to an end. Curiously, the alternative fuel may be done in by an unlikely collection of foes. Fervidly pro-ethanol in the last decade of his political career, former VP Al Gore reversed course in late November and apologized for supporting ethanol, which apparently was more about ingratiating himself to farmers. A week later, Energy Secretary Steven Chu piled on, saying: 'The future of transportation fuels shouldn't involve ethanol.' And in December, a group of small-engine manufacturers, automakers, and boat manufacturers filed suit in the US Court of Appeals to vacate the EPA's October ruling that using a 15% blend of ethanol in fuel supplies would not harm 2007 and newer vehicles. Despite all of this, the newly-elected Congress has extended the 45 cent-per-gallon ethanol blending tax credit that was due to expire, a move that is expected to reduce revenue by $6.25 billion in 2011. 'The ethanol insanity,' longtime-critic Wallace laments, 'will continue until so many cars and motors are damaged by this fuel additive that the public outcry can no longer be ignored.'"
If ETOH were actually worth anything (i.e., didn't harm engines, was *really* energy balance positive, didn't put aldehydes into the atmosphere, cause food prices to go up, could be produced from cellulose, etc.) it could survive without a government subsidy. The only reason it's still lurching along, taking up 40% of the corn produced in the USA, is because the lobbyists, farmers and ETOH producers can continue to suck $$ from the US gummint.
National Corn Growers Association.
Now there wouldn't be anything self serving on that site would there?
Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.
Alright, who's in charge of deciding who gets to live and who gets to die? Population explosions are usually a survival mechanism. Past a certain level of prosperity and education, you have bigger problems with population decline. If you want to 'control populations', give them liberty and education. There are more than enough resources left on earth to reach that goal but our great civilized cultures would rather see the starving masses die off than elevated to our own level if one is to believe people like you.
Mind the frickin' laser...
US destroyed its industry and "outsourced" it to China.
Actually there's still a lot of good stuff that's made in the US. It's just the labor-intensive jobs - whatever tasks that can't be easily automated - that've been exported to Mexico, Central America, and China.
For example, about a year and a half ago I met a man who owns a machine shop... His buisness was making tubular parts for telescopes. Mostly he just loads raw material and watches over his machines as the computer tells them what to do... 20 years ago an employee would have been required for each one.
Pinky's Brain (grandparent post) had a very good point about stimulus checks for all citizens. No more of this 1 in 7 on foodstamps crap - everyone should get foodstamps, or a guaranteed basic income.
There's always work to be done, it's just a matter of organization, and matching available hands with tasks. Money is the organizing principle that allows us to value other peoples' labor. The true distortion in the economy comes from allowing privately owned banks to expand the money supply by a factor of 10+ by making loans. The Fed's recent Quantitative Easing policy is a step in the right direction, because it finally creates a little bit of interest-free money (90% of the money the Treasury pays on the $600 billion in bonds that the Fed will buy will be returned to the treasury - see Ellen Brown's What's Really Behind QE2?).
hope that helps. :)
Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.
www.teslabox.com
Ok? Good for you? That's a hobby?
I can't tell this to you more clearly.
If my housing and food were guaranteed to be paid for, for the rest of my life, I'd never bother doing a damned thing past that. I'd have endless hobbies and diversions and time-wasters, but I'd not get a job. I know this about myself. I also know I am not alone.
If you look at societies where people are handed all they need to survive without ever having to do anything on their own.. that's about as far as they make it. Sure, some will work hard for really no reason, but many will just choose to exist. And fill the time with drugs, and with sex, and other "vices". This is human nature. We are selfish and exploitative.
... still waiting for this free-as-in-beer free beer I keep hearing about.