[Greenbuilding] [BULK] Re: More thoughts on Ethanol

[Lawrence Lile]

Agreed, Steve.  Earlier threads about Ethanol, and secondary effects on third world people (i.e. recent food riots in Mexico) got me thinking about this, and trying to put it in perspective.  My response to those comments was to acknowledge them, however also point out positive secondary effects in the US farm economy, which affects my neighbors directly and positively.  I am generally positive about ethanol, however acknowledging that it has definite negative effects on some of the world's people that can least afford them.  
 
I tend to see the world as a complex system, where each action has multiple effects, some good some bad.  Many in the Green movement (myself included circa 1980) see it in black and white terms - and have decided ethanol fuel is All Bad.  A recent UN study
 
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/05/070509-un-ethanol.html
 
cites some of these effects, and concludes that ethanol development will cause lots of disruption and deforestation if persued too quickly and aggressively, but it should be part of a long-term strategy to wean us off of oil if not overdone.  That's sorta my attitude.  
 
--Lawrence

________________________________

From: greenbuilding-bounces at listserv.repp.org on behalf of Steve T
Sent: Fri 5/11/2007 8:48 PM
To: Greenbuilding at listserv.repp.org
Subject: [BULK] Re: [Greenbuilding] More thoughts on Ethanol



I know this is over simplifying the OP, but in a nutshell:
The glass is not half full,
It's empty.

I'm just wondering why everything has to be black or white, good or bad?  It
is possible to make forward progress without a magic pill that fixes
everything immediately.  Biofuels are not a magic pill, that we understand,
but with responsible development it can be a part of the solution.  What if
ethanol plants ran on ethanol?  What if farm equipment ran on biofuel?  What
if semi-trucks and other transportation used ethanol and biofuels?

There are too many possibilities to just write this off.