alt.energy.renewable

"Bob Eld" wrote in message
news:X2GDj.23885$R84.20703@newssvr25.news.prodigy.net...
>
> "Brewer720" wrote in message
> news:c89da223-a739-4700-b74c-8ebb68281bc2@s50g2000hsb.googlegroups.com...
>>
>> > The biofuel cult is starving the world,
>>
>> I'm usually in here, (sci.energy) mostly read only, but I have a
>> question regarding the way of thinking illustrated above. A long time
>> ago in this newsgroup I heard someone pose the question that in
>> essence asked, how could we grow our food, grow our fuel, and continue
>> to feed the world. What I have to ask, and I really don't mean to be
>> mean spirited about this so if I do I'm sorry, is... Where is it
>> written that it is our job to feed the world?
>>
>> Now I understand that anyone who believes that Ethanol is going to be
>> the fix all should really get educated, but I ask this question based
>> on the fact that I've heard the attitude illustrated above in here
>> before. Again, I don't mean to make it sound like "The hell with
>> everyone else, we're looking out for number one" but the ugly reality
>> of the situation is that sooner or later the time will come when we
>> won't be able to solve our own problems, much less anyone else's. Some
>> would say that time is upon us now, but I'm not going to debate that.
>> I just want to know, is this really expected of the US?
>> Thank you for your consideration.
>
> There is no question that biofuels especially corn ethanol have some
> effect
> on raising food in the US. But it is also true that crop failures due to
> drought are even more responsible for food disruption around the world.
> Australia in particular was very hard hit with drought that has
> disrupted
> their wheat crop for some years. To add to that, the recent decline in
> the
> dollar has made US exports of all kinds, especially grains lucrative for
> US
> grain markets. Much more corn was exported to China in 2008 than was
> converted to ethanol to put it in perspective. All of these things
> conspire
> to exacerbate shortages and increase prices. Furthermore the rapid
> increase
> in oil prices, also mostly due to the weak dollar has added to the
> misery
> with added costs across the board from diesel fuel, to fertilizer, to
> process energy and so on.
>
> The US and other industrial countries can and are withstanding the
> multipronged attack on food supplies and prices. We can also handle the
> increased grain production needed for ethanol and bio-diesel. Like with
> all
> markets these things will equalize out as production, exports, feed,
> food,
> ethanol and other factors come into balance which they ultimately will.
> This
> the nature of our system. The real issue is the disappearance of
> historical
> grain and food surpluses that allowed much to be exported to poor
> countries
> especially in Africa. These exports are going to be more and more
> difficult
> in the future and certainly ethanol will play a roll.
>
> Do we owe the poor countries anything? Should we drive our cars and feed
> our
> hogs on food we could send to them? The problem as I see it is that it
> never
> ends. We have been sending grain to Africa for at least 100 years always
> for
> the altruistic reasons of helping feed the starving people over there.
> But,
> there always seems to be more starving people. The more we feed them the
> more there are to feed. Add to this drought, war, ethnic cleansing,
> genocide, bad government and it all seems hopeless.
>
> In my view we should send what food we can but our goal must be to
> reduce
> dependence on foreign sources for our energy. Our very survival demands
> it.
> This must be our number one priority and feeding people in far off lands
> must not interfere with it. Food based bio-fuels like corn ethanol are a
> small part of our energy requirements and can never be so significant
> that
> they are likely to be the big issue some claim them to be. Clearly we
> will
> be transitioning to non-food bio-fuels as we move into the future and
> the
> issue will become moot.
>
> As far as feeding the world is concerned, we should do what we can but
> we
> should also work to help get populations under control, create
> investment
> and infrastructure in these places, develop water resources and systems
> and
> do other things to push the food recipients toward self sufficiency so
> we
> don't have to feed them in the far future. The goal should be to get
> them
> off of our dole.


Amigo, the whole thing boiled down to 1-2 persons manupulating your
economy making it seem rosy, that $0 down, that rosy job/dream... making
people borrowing more and more... Same story as in the old depression.....
Do you know economy is a yearly trend? Nothing happened overnight. What
you see came from 2003...2006. If Americans had the right mind you
wouldn't be where you are now....so still thinking to save your repuk's
asses amigo?

El Tico