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The ethanol boom is getting more press, and not all of it good. Perusing the news this morning, I find a Christian Science Monitor report (2007.03.22) that says ethanol demand is raising land prices. Now for bankers profiting from mortgages and governments addicted to an obsolete property tax system, higher land prices are great. But for young farmers trying to get into the market, higher land prices are one more disadvantage they face as they try to stake their claim and compete with corporate farms.
Ethanol is impacting consumers as producers in the milk market. An AP report from this morning predicts a 9% increase in milk prices by fall. Locally, I've seen the price for a gallon of milk jump up 20-30 cents, to $3.00 a gallon. The cause (reports AP): "Costs have surged for fuel and petroleum-based products and for the corn used to feed dairy cows, a side effect of increases in the production of ethanol."
These market pressures are already kicking in, even with ethanol only taking up 20% of the national corn crop (that's twice the percentage of the corn crop directed to fuel production four years ago). We may well face some tough market choices. People need to eat, but that includes farmers. What will happen if the market provides the best return to farmers who sell their corn to big energy producers rather than food producers?
Drinking Liberally Update (11/15/2024)
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In Politics: Nationally: The Election is over and the wrong side won. I
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2 days ago
Uh oh -- but now Fidel Castro's on record saying ethanol is bad. In his first published essay since his surgery last year, the Cuban president says that shifting ag production from food to fuel will only benefit the wealthy industrialized nations. Says the commandante-in-chief about the propsect of building and ethanol economy in Cuba, "In our country, land handed over to the direct production of alcohol could be much useful for food production for the people and for environmental protection." Castro sees an impending food shortage combining with global warming to put the lives of billions of the world's poor in jeopardy.
ReplyDeleteSo the message is clear: argue against ethanol (or suggest that global warming might cause problems), and you're just a Red sympathizer!