The case for turning crops into fuel. - By William Saletan - Slate Magazine: "Biofuel is our next logical technology. We've had an agricultural revolution, an industrial revolution, and an information technology revolution. Now, we're putting them together to harness the power of life. Ecologically, it's ideal: a fuel that literally grows on trees."
Saturday, July 07, 2007
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The author here wants to have his cake and eat it to.
He quietly mentions that ethanol is bad for the US economy, mostly bad for the environment, and requires massive government subsidy... however, he then goes on to extoll its virtues and dismiss those who criticize it.
To compare critics of ethanol to Castro, as if they were even making the same arguments, is criminal.
The *idea* behind biofuel is great, and some future version of switchgrass or more efficient conversion technique for corn-ethanol may be out there for discovery. However, the reality of Iowa becoming a hotbed for environmental change and energy alternatives is not very rosy.
Corn ethanol is only popular because it is an easy alternative, made profitable by recent legislation, and because it is a useful replacement for the gasoline additive MTBE... not because it is a useful solution for our country's energy needs or environmental crises.
Finally... lets not forget the role of the Iowa caucus and the 21 electoral votes from Illinois.
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