[Vo]: OT : ethanol biofuel and stupid white men

[Nick Palmer]

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/25/business/25ethanol.html?th&emc=th   This NY Times article today talks about the rush to create ethanol from corn in the heartland of America and how it is regenerating small town agriculture. It mentions that the "energy balance" of ethanol as a fuel versus the energy from fertiliser, tractor diesel  etc used in producing it, is dubious to say the least. While there is plenty to annoy environmentalists, economists etc in this article what particularly annoyed me was this near the beginning...   <<Once considered the green dream of the environmentally sensitive, ethanol has become the province of agricultural giants that have long pressed for its use as fuel, as well as newcomers seeking to cash in on a bonanza>>   Biofuel, in the way they are talking about, was NEVER the "green dream of the environmentally sensitive". Right from when it was first thought about it was realised that conventionally growing crops, such as corn, as biomass would have problems with the energy balance, top soil impoverishment etc. On the other hand, growing one's own tractor fuel on an integrated organic farm can work sustainably but absolutely cannot be scaled up to grow the amount of fuel that the pork barrel politicians are suggesting - it would create a new dust bowl.   Nick