There are two green movements, the earth one and the money one, and in Iowa the latter uses the former with abandon
Keep this in mind every time you go grocery shopping and buy gas
Where is the humanity in calling for more ethanol being marketed for use in cars at a time of cyclical weather issues abroad and other food security issues?
Where are the real concerns for the planet and people in pushing for dependence on undependable wind energy instead of developing one or two nuclear powered generating stations in this state which would be enough to eliminate all the godawful bird killing, pollution causing (rare earth using, cropland destroying, noise creating, non-recyclable) undependable eyesores that are actual assaults on the environment and instead, you know, reliably warm and cool homes and power business and real industry instead of boondoggle “industry”.
Is that too much to ask from political leadership
We read recently that 50% of Iowa’s corn acreage now goes to ethanol production, most of which goes to blend with gasoline. Over one half of Iowa’s total cropland is planted in corn. So then about a quarter of the cropland goes to your car instead of to reduce food prices here or threats of famine at a time when food security is a real issue.
There is also the matter that ethanol does not keep your gas cheaper because it does not actually extend your cars mileage as it results in at least 3% less mpg and you pay for the lesser per gallon cost seen at the pump with that reduced mileage and the tax dollars used to benefit the industry including .less taxes for E15 blended gasoline.
Now environmentalists are becoming more aware that it takes a lot of water and energy to produce ethanol and are not so sure of its net benefits. Indeed a big reason for the push for CO2 pipe line across Iowa is to take the CO2 produced by ethanol production (remember CO2 bad) and move it elsewhere for burying. Maybe some more environmental earth first types will realize the absurdity of that.
Green (the money kind) is behind both of them — ethanol marketing mandates and the latest boondoggle pipeline mandates (eminent domain).
It is almost like politicians with dollar signs in their eyes glom on to a cause –“green” energy, — make even the alleged solution untenable, indeed counterproductive by their own standards, and then offer a solution enforced by law under eminent domain, and pretend they are helping.
Now CO2 is good for crops, it is what they consume for energy, in turn producing oxygen which we breath, and then we in turn produce CO2 which the crops like. It is a good plan given that CO2 is minor part of the atmosphere but essential to our existence.
Now the green movement is largely coming around to the realization that all that corn for ethanol is not such a good thing however wrong they are about the causes of climate cycles. But that has not stopped Iowa political leadership Republican and Democrat from fostering more and more boondoggles under the guise of green in order to get the shade of green they really like. As long as they are on the take, would that is be from something that actually helps humanity. Nuclear energy for one.
