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jteamaz's Blog

by jteamaz from Phoenix

Last Post 76 days, 4 hours Ago


Crime And Ethanol
May 8, 2008 | 12:08 PM
Category: News
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Biofuels are one of the major reasons you and I are paying more for groceries these days. Most of us look of it as an inconvenience, but for many in other areas of the world it's a catastrophe. U.N. Special Investigator Jean Ziegler called the use of biofuels like ethanol "a crime against a great part of humanity." It used to be that natural disasters sparked rises in fuel prices. What makes this a crime against humanity is the fact that we caused it and it can be traced to our false worldview.

In the U.S. eggs are up 35%, milk up 23%, bread up 16%. Americans generally spend 10% of their budget on food, it's of course squeezing budgets. For countries like Ethiopa and Bangladesh people can spend upwards of 70% of their income on food, so even slight increases impair their ability to feed their families. Wheat prices have doubled and corn prices have quadrupled in the last year. These countries also face political instability as the poor struggle to feed themselves and their families.

While the rise in food-staple prices has many causes, one of them is definitely man-made: the use of cropland and food-staples to produce bio-fueld such as ethanol. Transforming hundreds and hudreds of thousands of tons of foodstuffs into fuel is absolutely catastrophic for hungry people. Example: It takes 510 pounds of corn to make 13 gallons of ethanol; that amount could feed a child in Zambia for a year, it would fuel your car for only a week! What is maddening about this is the the biofuel effort is fueled by politicians handing out massive subsidies to the farm belt and pandering to glassy-eyed environmentalists. Ethanol could not make it on it's own on a level playing field. Every presidential hopeful that participated in the Iowa caucus had to sing the praises of Ethanol in order to get votes. I don't think any politician with a shred of integrity could deny that it would be more important to feed a child for a year as opposed as to fueling one's car for a week. Ask your candidate where they stand on this political folly. Call your Congressman to tell them what you feel about this massive ripoff of the American consumer.

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Member Comments Total Comments: 11
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garamps read my blog
May 8, 2008 | 6:59 PM

One of the efforts to mislead the thinking on this issue is the claim by the Ethanol producers that the type of corn used to make the fuel is of the inedible variety.

That statement, while true as for human consumption, does not point out that farmers are not growing edible crops in order to claim a slice of the subsidy pie. The crops that are being displaced for the bogus corn is resulting in the shortages that you mention above.

The Ethanol industry is not being honest and that alone should disqualify them from Government contracts. Theirs is deceit of the highest level and it should be stopped NOW!
jteamaz read my blog
May 8, 2008 | 7:48 PM

garamps, I'd like to point that this is my third post on the Ethanol scam. Fox absolutely refuses to put it on the Community blog. I'm starting to wonder who's toes I'm stomping on......
Marks read my blog view my photos
May 8, 2008 | 9:09 PM

I don't know about the stomping on toes, JT, but I happen to believe you are spot-on regarding our idiotic energy/agriculture policy (actually, the lack thereof).

Tyson Foods has decided to close one of their chicken plants (how's that for a play on words?). Reason? High price of chickenfeed...

We are the reason our government is so scrooged up.
trucker101 read my blog
May 8, 2008 | 9:31 PM

BTW does anyone realize that the amount of emissions emitted in producing one gallon of ethanol is almost twice that of burning one gallon of gasoline in the average car? Reason being the deisel (red dyed high sulpher deisel only allowed in off road vehicles, ie tractors, harvesters, etc). Ethanon fuel will only destroy us faster.
trucker101 read my blog
May 8, 2008 | 9:31 PM

BTW does anyone realize that the amount of emissions emitted in producing one gallon of ethanol is almost twice that of burning one gallon of gasoline in the average car? Reason being the deisel (red dyed high sulpher deisel only allowed in off road vehicles, ie tractors, harvesters, etc). Ethanon fuel will only destroy us faster.
jteamaz read my blog
May 8, 2008 | 9:55 PM

I know very well of the off-road red dyed diesel you speak of. We use it in our refer units. I'll dig up the facts on the ethanol manufacturing process, you'll find them interesting......
jteamaz read my blog
May 8, 2008 | 9:59 PM

Ethanol contains water that distillation cannot remove, it can cause damage to engines not specifically designed to burn it. This water also risks pipeline corrosion, so it must be shipped by truck, railcar or barge. These methods are far more expensive than pipelines. Ethanol is 20 to 30 percent less efficient than gasoline, making it more expensive per highway mile. It takes 450 lbs. of corn to produce enough ethanol to fill 1 small SUV tank. It takes more than 1 gallon of fossil fuel - oil and natural gas - to produce one gallon of ethanol. Corn must be grown, fertilized, harvested and trucked to ethanol producers - all of which use fuel. It takes 1,700 gallons of water to produce 1 gallon of ethanol. If we diverted our total corn output to ethanol production, it would reduce gasoline consumption by only 10 or 12 percent. There's more.......
jteamaz read my blog
May 8, 2008 | 10:03 PM

Ethanol is so costly that it wouldn't make it in a free market. That's why Congress has enacted major ethanol subsidies, about $1.05 to $1.38 per gallon. In fact, there's a double tax -- one in the form of ethanol subsidies and another in the form of handouts to corn farmers to the tune of $9.5 billion in 2005 alone. There's something else wrong with this picture. If Congress and President Bush say we need less reliance on oil and greater use of renewable fuels, then why would Congress impose a stiff tariff, 54 cents per gallon on ethanol from Brazil. Brazilian ethanol by the way, is produced from sugar cane and is far more energy efficient, cleaner and cheaper to produce. This production has driven up prices of corn-fed livestock, beef chicken and dairy products and products made from corn, such as cereal. Soybean and wheat prices have also risen dramatically. The fact that we are the largest grain producer and exporter means that the ethanol induced higher grain prices will have a worldwide impact on food prices.
jteamaz read my blog
May 8, 2008 | 10:06 PM

It's easy to understand how the public, looking for cheaper gasoline, can be taken in by the call for increased ethanol usage. But politicians, corn farmers and ethanol producers know they are running a cruel hoax on the American consumer. They are in it for only the money. The top leader in the ethanol hoax is Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), the country's largest producer of ethanol. Ethanol producers and the farm lobby have pressured farm state congressmen into believing that it would be political suicide if they didn't support subsidized ethanol production. That's the stick. Campaign contributions play the role of the carrot. Who do you think a politician will invite into his congressional or white house office to have a heart-to-heart, you or an ADM executive? How about the millions of gasoline consumers, who are relatively uninformed and have little clout...............
Marks read my blog view my photos
May 8, 2008 | 10:14 PM

Word, JT!
garamps read my blog
May 9, 2008 | 2:53 PM

The word on Ethanol has been put out there for quite some time now but the general public is either ignorant of it or good with it!

It is too astonishing for me to accept that our Reps won't act on the Ethanol issue responsibly.

My 'fed up' meter is in the red zone! Not sure what to do next as my states local and federal Reps have heard from me and others and we get the 'Thank you' notes and appreciation for our concerns, and our message is under consideration blah, blah; Have a nice day, now!

I already do not by from stations that blend it into gasoline, as far as I know. Any suggestions on how to hurt 'em in the wallet?
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jteamaz

Not much to say actually. Just a normal kinda guy. I drive a truck delivering groceries for a major food chain here in the valley. Try to keep educated on local and national events especially those concerning corruption and moral ineptitude by our "elected officials." Very much for protecting our freedoms and rights, always open to new ideas and discussions. I don't identify as Democrat or Republican, and don't like to be labeled as liberal or conservative. Just try to stay responsible and informed as possible.

Member Since: 4/18/2007


 

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