The downside of biofuels
December 18th 2007 07:07
As I've discussed in previous posts, I'm all for the production of fuels from alternative sources, but I am concerned about the extended impacts of using products such as corn and soybeans to produce those fuels. A recent article at the Accuracy in Media website discusses this very topic:
So the price of corn increased and that caused soybean and wheat prices to increase. That, in turn, caused turkey prices to go up. That's a real inflationary domino effect.
Here's another sobering fact illustrating the law of diminishing returns as it relates to certain biofuels:
And as a fiscal conservative, this doesn't sound like a good idea to me:
I'm not a fan of government subsidies. I WOULD be in favor of government funding for research to produce alternative fuels more efficiently and economically. With subsidies paid out to producers of corn-based ethanol, the taxpayer gets hit on both ends -- once when having his tax dollars dispersed to encourage inefficient biofuel production...and again when he suffers the inflationary impact that the process has on food prices.
As I've mentioned before, the use of algae (as an example) for fuel would not adversely impact our current food supplies or prices. I hope that those in charge will thoroughly analyze our future energy needs and how best to serve them without devastating other areas of our economy. Unfortunately, though, too many decisions in Washington are made in a vacuum and the general welfare of the electorate is too often overlooked.
The Thanksgiving weekend hike of turkey prices is attributed to increased competition for corn products by farmers and oil companies. As a result, the price of corn increased, which consequently raised farm feeds.
"The whole food and fiber sector have to bid to get enough supply of the commodity that supplies them, so when corn prices go up, soy bean and wheat prices have to go up because those industries have to keep their acres in production to keep their supply and that is inflationary that everybody is going to have to pay for," said Joel Brandenberger, President, National Turkey Federation.
"The whole food and fiber sector have to bid to get enough supply of the commodity that supplies them, so when corn prices go up, soy bean and wheat prices have to go up because those industries have to keep their acres in production to keep their supply and that is inflationary that everybody is going to have to pay for," said Joel Brandenberger, President, National Turkey Federation.
So the price of corn increased and that caused soybean and wheat prices to increase. That, in turn, caused turkey prices to go up. That's a real inflationary domino effect.
Here's another sobering fact illustrating the law of diminishing returns as it relates to certain biofuels:
Matthew Brown, currently an Energy Consultant, argues that "replacing only five percent of the nation's diesel consumption with biodiesel would require diverting approximately 60 percent of today's soy crops to biodiesel production."
And as a fiscal conservative, this doesn't sound like a good idea to me:
William Engdahl criticizes President Bush's plan in Engdahl's paper The Hidden Agenda behind the Bush Administration's Bio-fuel Plan,saying that "the heart of the plan is a huge, taxpayer-subsidized expansion of use of bio-ethanol for transport fuel…..to make certain it happens, farmers and big agricultural business giants like ADM or David Rockefeller get generous subsidies to grow corn for fuel instead of food."
I'm not a fan of government subsidies. I WOULD be in favor of government funding for research to produce alternative fuels more efficiently and economically. With subsidies paid out to producers of corn-based ethanol, the taxpayer gets hit on both ends -- once when having his tax dollars dispersed to encourage inefficient biofuel production...and again when he suffers the inflationary impact that the process has on food prices.
As I've mentioned before, the use of algae (as an example) for fuel would not adversely impact our current food supplies or prices. I hope that those in charge will thoroughly analyze our future energy needs and how best to serve them without devastating other areas of our economy. Unfortunately, though, too many decisions in Washington are made in a vacuum and the general welfare of the electorate is too often overlooked.
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Comment by S.L. Bradish
Comment by PopulistConservative
Angry Electorate