Middle East Oil vs Nebraskan Corn (political cartoon)

Crossposted from Town Called Dobson & My Left Wing


click to enlarge

Ethanol is not the be-all solution to our energy problem. You could plant all of the U.S. in corn and still not have enough to provide all our energy needs, if you used sugar cane, those figures would dramatically improve. However, corn-based ethanol is a great way to make changes NOW. America has an ungodly infrastructure to grow, harvest and transport corn. Using that corn for ethanol is no-brainer. Plus it helps family farmers... a group the government has habitually abused for decades.

From CNN:

In Nebraska, 84 percent (56 out of 67) of the counties of under 10,000 residents lost population. Kansas lost 28,392 in non-metro population, Iowa 21,697, Illinois 18,673 and North Dakota 17,866. Almost all the farm communities in the Midwest experienced similar population stagnation or loss.

According to Bob Dinneen, president of the Renewable Fuels Association, ethanol is now revitalizing many of these rural communities - and not just in the Midwest.

There are already about 100 U.S. ethanol plants in operation, up from 50 in 1999, and 78 more are under construction, reports Dinneen. They range from Texas and California to New York and Florida. They use corn, sorghum, soybeans and other crops to produce ethanol. Development of practical cellulosic ethanol production plants (from switch grass, corn stalks, municipal solid waste and other sources) is underway."

Anything that keeps our money OUT of the hands of Middle-East Dictators and Theocracies is a very good thing.