[Rhodes22-list] Corn - More Politics - real reply

[Brad Haslett]

Rummy,

What the press forgets to mention is that Brazil hit the the 'mother lode'
in offshore oil.  Rik got it right, they make ethanol from sugar beets.  We
could too but for the protectionism of the Louisiana sugar beet farmers.
Even if we did, it wouldn't make a dent in the energy budget.  A long time
ago in a far away place, I rode my bicycle across Iowa several times during
RAGBRAI.  Even then, the locals were talking about their cancer rates as a
result of the contaminated run-off  from corn.  There is no such thing as a
free lunch.  We won't grow our way out of this predicament in the short
term.  Just like steel and oil (and the Chinese) with the Japanese, or Jews
with the Germans, we'll fight it or surrender them the ground.  The
Clinton/Gore team got it right with their first campaign song, "don't stop
thinking about tomorrow".

Brad


On 10/24/07, R22RumRunner at aol.com <R22RumRunner at aol.com> wrote:
>
> Brad,
> To the best of my knowledge, I am the only Rhodie that burns E-85 in his
> vehicle. In fact, I will go out of my way to find a station that sells it.
> The corn bi-products of making ethanol are completely recyclable as
> livestock feed. Burning ethanol does not put as much pollution into the
> air as
> gasoline when burned. Yes, there is still 15% gasoline in it, but that's
> only to
> prevent some redneck alcoholic from drinking something that is 100
> pure  ethanol.
> I would rather pay the farmers and the ethanol manufacturers a fair market
> price than to line the pockets of some Arab Sheik. Add the cost of wars
> and
> cleaning up oil pollution and I still say that ethanol is a bargain. We
> have a
> lot more land available that could be growing corn or any other plant that
> could  be used to make ethanol. Brazil is a good example. Even though they
> have
> oil  reserves and refineries, they burn almost exclusively, ethanol, made
> from
> sugar  cane.
>
> Rummy
>
>
>
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