Harmful Ethanol

The latest crime against humanity? Overblown rhetoric we're used to from the Left, but this time it's directed against ethanol by an outside UN expert for raising the price of food to the world's poor. (Will he get a Nobel Peace Prize?)

But seriously. Ethanol has rightfully been criticized as a wash on energy gained, an air pollutant, and a huge water hog. And even with tax credits to producers and tariff protection, the economics aren't working. WSJ:

The fortunes of many U.S. farmers, farm towns and ethanol companies are tied to corn-based ethanol, of which America is the largest producer. Ethanol is also a cornerstone of President Bush's push to reduce dependence on foreign oil. But the once-booming business has gone in the dumps, with profits squeezed, plans for new plants shelved in certain cases, and stock prices hovering near 52-week lows.

Now the fuel's lobby is pleading with Congress to drastically boost the amount of ethanol that oil refiners must blend into gasoline. But formidable opponents such as the livestock, packaged-food and oil industries also have lawmakers' ears. What once looked like a slam-dunk could now languish in pending energy legislation that might not pass for weeks, if ever.

Let it languish. Chicagoans already have some of the highest gas prices in the country,(with all these boutique gas mandates and local gas taxes) and the environmental benefits are a bust. Mandating more of this harmful ethanol is a bad idea.

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