Jan 21, 2011

Subsidizing Ethanol Is Bad Policy

The federal policy of trying to reduce energy dependence through the use of ethanol runs counter to free-market economics. Increasing the use of ethanol will not reduce dependence upon foreign energy sources, according to a research paper published by the National Academy of Science, which concluded this about ethanol: "Neither can [it] replace much petroleum without impacting food supplies."
 
This finding is similar to other studies. The Magleve Research Center of the Polytechnic University of New York found that the use of ethanol as a subsidized fuel is "not a practical long-term solution," and it could have a "devastating" impact on agriculture. Some of the arguments for making corn into fuel have been that the sugar byproduct in corn could be used; however, a recent EPA study shows that there was no sugar from the cellulose agricultural byproduct, so called “biomass,” in the ethanol produced in the second half of 2010.

The promotion of ethanol began decades ago upon a premise of economic siege as a result of the “energy crisis” in the early 1970s. There was at that time a comprehensive review of all the myriad types of energy that had been used in recent modern history. That review found that several alternative fuel sources have worked, but they were based upon particular circumstances in the geographical areas that used these sources. Geothermal power, for example, is a highly efficient energy source in Iceland because of the volcanic activity and many thermal springs on the island — a unique set of conditions that are not equaled anywhere else on Earth. One-quarter of Iceland’s electrical power generation and 87 percent of its heating requirements are met using this geothermal power.