From Seattle Times
"The hard truth about ethanol," "Palm-oil frenzy taking toll"
The problem is, ethanol really isn't ready for prime time ... even the most generous analysts estimate that it takes the energy equivalent of 3 gallons of ethanol to make 4 gallons of the stuff ...If you make ethanol from corn, the environmental benefits are limited ...corn has doubled in price over the past year, from about $2 to $4 a bushel, thanks mostly to demand from ethanol producers ...
"It's absolutely disingenuous to suggest that biodiesel made from palm oil is green or sustainable," said David Waskow, international program director for Friends of the Earth.
And, from the MSN article: "Why grocery bills are getting bigger"
Ethanol plants' strong demand for corn is driving up the cost of livestock and will raise prices for beef, pork and chicken, the Agriculture Department said today.
The price of corn, the main feed for livestock, has driven up the cost of feeding chickens by 40 percent ...
Please read full review & thanks for citing this GristMill - http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2007/3/11/21310/8177
If we're serious about achieving energy independence and mitigating global warming, experts say, solution must be conservation.
