Study: Ethanol May Add to Global Warming
By H. JOSEF HEBERT Associated Press Writer
Feb 7th, 2008 | WASHINGTON -- The widespread use of ethanol from corn
could result in nearly twice the greenhouse gas emissions as the
gasoline it would replace because of expected land-use changes,
researchers concluded Thursday. The study challenges the rush to
biofuels as a response to global warming.

The researchers said that past studies showing the benefits of ethanol
in combating climate change have not taken into account almost certain
changes in land use worldwide if ethanol from corn -- and in the future
from other feedstocks such as switchgrass -- become a prized commodity.

"Using good cropland to expand biofuels will probably exacerbate
global warming," concludes the study published in Science magazine.

The researchers said that farmers under economic pressure to produce
biofuels will increasingly "plow up more forest or grasslands,"
releasing much of the carbon formerly stored in plants and soils
through decomposition or fires. Globally, more grasslands and forests
will be converted to growing the crops to replace the loss of grains
when U.S. farmers convert land to biofuels, the study said.

On Feb 8, 6:00 am, tg earthlink.net> wrote:

The only reason there is a "rush to biofuels" is that gov'ts are
subsidizing it.

Now, one would think this would be taken as a cautionary tale by
socialists like Tiggy whose solution to all social problems - real or
imagined - is gov't intervention. But of course it won't.

Some biofuel processes may in fact be economic. But if that is the
case, the market will provide sufficient incentive to pursue it.

Apart from the other questionable issues surrounding biofuels, their
subsidization has led to a substantial increase in grain prices which
has led to price increases all through the food chain.

Fred Weiss

On Feb 8, 8:15 am, Fred Weiss papertig.com> wrote:

On Feb 8, 11:11 am, Robert Cohen msn.com> wrote:

On Feb 8, 2:23 pm, tg earthlink.net> wrote:

I tried fermenting sugar water with yeast and distilling it.

It converted to an acid and I haven't been able to chug distilled
spirits ever since.

Maybe I should sell the recipe to the Betty Ford clinic.

Bret Cahill