Let me think…
One quarter of US grain crops fed to cars – not people, new figures show
One-quarter of all the maize and other grain crops grown in the US now ends up as biofuel in cars rather than being used to feed people, according to new analysis which suggests that the biofuel revolution launched by former President George Bush in 2007 is impacting on world food supplies.
The 2009 figures from the US Department of Agriculture shows ethanol production rising to record levels driven by farm subsidies and laws which require vehicles to use increasing amounts of biofuels.
“The grain grown to produce fuel in the US [in 2009] was enough to feed 330 million people for one year at average world consumption levels,” said Lester Brown, the director of the Earth Policy Institute, a Washington thinktank ithat conducted the analysis.
Awesome. Convert food into crappy, low energy density fuel, and mandate that people use it. What could possibly go wrong?
One Response to “Gee, why are tortillas so expensive?”
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Don’t know that I’d actually classify this one as “dumbassery” since this is exactly the impact that was planned for this “policy” move.
Farmers and lobbyists wanted corn prices to go up, and they have and having ethanol defined as the ‘default’ definition of “biofuel” and therefor the ONLY “biofuel” the government subsidies apply too… Well that made it supposedly “easier” on Detroit and gave “incentive” to NOT support any other biofuel production.
As far as “props” for farm-subsidies, Detroit-automaker-subsidies and building a welfare system for both into the Federal budget the scheme really seems to have worked. More-the-pitty…
So I can see classifying this tid-bit under “I’m From the Government” and “Politics” I’d have to say it wasn’t and isn’t “dumbassery” since it is working as planned.
Of course I would and will have to admit that what REALLY chaps-my-keester on this is the fact you can’t get any credit what-so-ever for actually USING biofuel(S) unless it REQUIRES a “flex-fuel” system (no biodiesel, synthetic gasoline or the like thank you) and no support unless your “feedstock” comes from a staple food item. (No algea, no farm waste, etc. Must be soybeans, corn, or something useful… Gahhh! :o)
Randy