Ethanol, a fuel made from corn, has been hyped as the answer to our energy problems. Unlike fosil fuels, which will be exhausted at some point, you can grow corn. It will also make us less dependent on other countries. But, as the BBC reports, the corn used for ethanol is diverted from its more typical use: food. With more demand for corn, its price has gone through the roof, making the price of corn tortillas in Mexico rise 400%. As that’s the staple of the poorest of the poor, soon we can expect to see increases in hunger and malnutrition.
So I’m wondering if we should rethink this whole ethanol thing. Yes, we can grow corn, but by definition in limited amounts. We have so much land to do it. Land that, again, will have its use diverted from being used to grow food, which will make agricultural companies rich, but the poor unable to afford to eat. Even the middle classes are likely to feel the impact, so much of our food is corn dependent that higher prices in corn, will mean more expensive meat (cows are corn fed), more expensive sweets and sodas (corn syrup), more expensive baked goods (cornstarch) and so forth. Plus I wonder what does it mean to give so much power to the agricultural companies who own the land where this corn is planted. With unstoppable demand for their product, they will be able to fix its price wherever they want, and run more havoc in the US – and world – economy than expensive oil ever could.
It’s also worth noting that ethanol is not a clean fuel, so it won’t help our greenhouse problems. But what ethanol can do is distract us from actually looking for renewable and clean energy sources that will not starve the world’s population.
Category: The Absurd (Page 10 of 12)
A poll worker in Louisville, Ky., allegedly choked a voter, according to the Associated Press. The dispute began when a voter said he didn’t want to cast a ballot in a judicial election, because he didn’t know enough about the candidates, but the poll worker insisted, and then throttled him.
The Press Association Newswire reports:
“A row has erupted in liberal Netherlands over plans to send
prostitutes to war zones to accompany Dutch troops.
‘The army must consider ways its soldiers can let off steam,”
Annemarie Jorritsma, mayor of the town of Almere. ‘There was
once the suggestion that a few prostitutes should accompany
troops on missions. I think that is something we should talk
about,” she said, adding that the prostitutes would keep
soldiers from turning to local women.
when I ask a colleague about the e-mail address of another colleague I haven’t written to in some time, and I stop myself to first ask if he hasn’t been killed yet (nope, he’s alive!).
I do want a very different world for my children.
Recent Comments