Ethanol questions
There's an interesting AP piece picked up today on the Pioneer Press business page:
WASHINGTON (AP) - Ethanol is far from a cure-all for the nation's energy problems. It's not as environmentally friendly as
some supporters claim and would supply only 12 percent of U.S. motoring fuel - even if every acre of corn were used.
A number of researchers, the latest in a report Monday, are warning about exaggerated expectations that ethanol could dramatically change America's dependence on foreign oil by shifting motorists away from gasoline.
As far as alternative fuels are concerned, biodiesel from soybeans is the better choice compared with corn-produced ethanol, University of Minnesota researchers concluded in an analysis Monday.
But "neither can replace much petroleum without impacting food supplies," the researchers concluded in the paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Of course it seems every Minnesota politician is a strong supporter of ethanol. And it's hard to argue against ethanol as an economic development tool for much of rural Minnesota. But there are some questions voters should be asking as politicians knock at your door. Here are two:
What measures beyond ethanol do you support to end U.S. dependence on foreign oil?
What happens to rural Minnesota when the ethanol boom goes bust?
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