From Congress Daily:
EPA today said corn-based ethanol produces more greenhouse gas emissions than gasoline when global changes in land use are considered -- a provocative finding that could spur significant opposition from Midwestern lawmakers and biofuel proponents. But EPA Administrator Jackson emphasized in a conference call that technological advancements should make ethanol and other biofuels more climate-friendly than gasoline. Biofuels can develop pathways to reduce their carbon footprint, Jackson said, adding that corn-based ethanol can become more sustainable as well. - "EPA: Corn-Based Ethanol Major Culprit In Global Warming," Congress Daily, May 5, 2009
My feeling on this is that the government should be pursuing plug in hybrids instead of biofuels. According to the book Eco Barons by Edward Humes, a professor named Andy Frank can adapt commercially available cars (the same ones you and I buy) to be so fuel efficient that you'd need to go to the gas station only 4 times a year. In 1992, he came up with a car that got 3300 mpg. In fact, Frank has been doing this for years - it's not even a new development. AND the car companies know about his work. Some have even hired him in the past. He worked for GM to adapt the EV1 so that it would be a hybrid that ran mostly on battery power but used its gas engine as a contingency when the battery ran low. But GM trashed their EV1 and never rolled out Frank's model even after paying him to develop it. In other words: we have a solution to our fuel woes. It exists. We know what it is. The car companies know what it is. We don't need new technological innovations to get there. So why on earth are we pursuing a stupid fuel like corn ethanol????
There's a comment period between now and May 21 so you can tell the government you oppose this anti-scientific move. I believe the most effective way to send in comments would be to cite actual scientific research about the ineffectiveness of corn ethanol to fight climate change (as well as the obnoxious aspect about it from a consumer point of view that you'll have to go to the gas station more often).
You can make comments here but if you need help coming up with some good talking points, I plan to research that and post about it here in the near future. If the provided link does not work, go to www.regulations.gov and search for docket ID EPA-HQ-OAR-2009-0211
Information about ethanol:
Agrofuels in the Americas: An Irrational Strategy
Business Week: The Insane Biofuel Bubble
EPA Holds Corn Ethanol Accountable... Sort Of
Ethanol Waste: It's What's For... Breakfast?
Ethanol's Contentious Carbon Footprint
Corn Ethanol Approaches a Moment of Truth |
