We have a small family run cattle ranch - our family business has been here for 100 years. Since the enviromlist want the change in gas - they've started using corn to make the ethenol - people don't realize it takes more energy to make it and it's more expensive. Thus the milk is more expensive - fruit - vegetables and everything you buy because their is less corn and if you find it it's lots higher in price. It takes more energy to keep those new windmill energy makers going too - because they have to keep the other plants ready to go if the wind stops blowing. When they change one thing - thinking they're helping the enviroment it has a trickle down effect. We who own the land take very good care of it because that's what we make our living from. There is gas under the ground where we live and some wells are being drilled and people who don't live here are trying to stop it. If you saw how responsible the gas drillers are and knew they could drill 24 wells from one spot and then put the land back the way it was. Also check out how much tax the government and state are putting on each gallon of gas - which it also takes to get our groceries to us. My niece just moved back from the midwest, where they were encouraged to buy ethanol. It is hard to find here, and they were buying regular gas for the first time in a long time. Her husband was surprised to see how many more miles per gallon they were getting with regular gas. He said he regretted using ethanol all that time, they had spent too much money.There was a really good article in National Geographic about ethanol last year sometime. It showed that using corn was actually not a great choice. There were other plants that could be used that would show a greater return on investment, but there were pros and cons with all of them.
I had read about using corn to make our gasoline in the future, but i wonder, for those who are allergic to corn, will it effect them breathing the exhaust in?
Well, not everything in the post Starduster put out rings true.
1. In the early years of producing ethanol it wasn't cost effective. However, the technology has improved dramatically and it is cost effective.
My problem with using corn for producing ethanol is that corn is a food and should be used as such. And yes, this is why food products using/containing corn have increased in cost and quite likely will for an indefinite period of time. Also, there is increasing world demand for corn. Don't understand how fruits and vegetables are affected by using corn for fuel.
2. The large wind generators produce electricity and the excess electricity produced is sold to the power companies. There is a federal law which requires the power companies to purchase this power.
The large power-generating plants aren't ever shut down because of the ever-increasing demand for electricity. Also, you don't just pull a switch and shut down a power-generating plant. When a plant goes down it's because there is a problem and it costs tens of thousands of dollars to get one up and running again. So to say the large power generating plants have to be kept running because of the electricty produced by the large wind generators is just plain silly.
3. Don't know where you're from but I am well aware of the pros and cons of the oil industry. Because of federal legislation the oil diggers/companies have to put the land back to its original condition. However, they do damage to the infrastructure of the surrounding area, such as roads and bridges, etc. and they bear very little cost, if any, in their repair.
I, too, come from a farming background.
Copyright ArthritisInsight.com