Word: ethanol
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...fastest way to start a fistfight among environmentalists is to bring up the topic of biofuels - plant-based liquid fuels like ethanol that could potentially take the place of petroleum. Biofuel revolutionaries - like Silicon Valley venture capitalist Vinod Khosla - see plant power as a way to break America's dependence on foreign oil, and produce auto fuel that doesn't kill the climate. Opponents dismiss biofuels - most of which are currently distilled from crops like corn and sugar cane - as a blind alley, one that drives up food prices without saving the earth...
...that last point of food versus fuel, the naysayers have so far had the upper hand. Corn - the main source of ethanol in the U.S. - isn't a very rich source of energy, and it's difficult to understand how a world that still has nearly a billion hungry people could dedicate a sizable chunk of its corn harvest to fuel. The 4.86 billion gallons of corn ethanol produced by the U.S. in 2006 has already had a measurable impact on grain prices, which are hovering at world highs...
...order that states vote in from cycle to cycle, ensuring that every state has an opportunity to be early, yet the candidates have enough time to make their case to each. Iowans have undoubtedly benefited from their position in the schedule—their favorite political issues, such as ethanol subsidies, have received special attention; campaigns have flooded their economy with spending; and many have had the opportunity to see several of the candidates in person. Voters in states with later primaries, on the other hand, receive none of these benefits. Montana and South Dakota have their primaries on June...
...environmentalists, that's the risk. Oil has spiked in the past, prompting a wave of investment in alternative energy that crashed as soon as petroleum prices dropped. Transitioning from fossil fuels to clean power will be a long, fraught process, and investors - whether they're pushing ethanol, hybrids or something new - need long-term certainty that they won't be undercut by old, dirty fuels dipping down to cheaper prices again. "That risk [of volatility] makes consumers and investors alike very reluctant to bank on high prices," says Greene. It doesn't make sense to spend hundreds of millions...
...What is the most viable solution to our dependence on fossil fuels? -John Hall, Minot, N.D.If there were one quick move, I would get rid of the importation duty on sugar. All cars and buses in America could be run on sugar-based ethanol-it is seven times more efficient to produce than corn-based ethanol. Interestingly, American cars used to run on ethanol. It was only when Prohibition came in, and people became concerned that car owners would drink petrol, that dirty oil replaced...