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Will the USA be remembered as the nation that put its food into its gas tank?

Troublemane

Troublemane

Well-Known Member
http://www.wbir.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=55640
Prices soar as Great Plains wheat is shoved aside - Washington Post - MSNBC.com
Food prices rising, but no shortage in U.S. - Food Inc. - MSNBC.com

When historians look back on this so-called "great experiement", will they conclude we were idiots? By having farmers grow more corn for making ethanol (so that now only 1 in ten farmers will be growing wheat), coupled with a weak dollar and a worldwide shortage of wheat, now the world is buying our wheat and we soon may not have enough for ourselves....or be able to afford it. So, aren't we stupid for wanting to put our food into our gas tanks?

Thank God there are blockbuster films opening every weekend for the next 3 months! That oughtta keep the masses occupied!:D
 
Magic Man

Magic Man

Reaper of Conversation
Troublemane said:
http://www.wbir.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=55640
Prices soar as Great Plains wheat is shoved aside - Washington Post - MSNBC.com
Food prices rising, but no shortage in U.S. - Food Inc. - MSNBC.com

When historians look back on this so-called "great experiement", will they conclude we were idiots? By having farmers grow more corn for making ethanol (so that now only 1 in ten farmers will be growing wheat), coupled with a weak dollar and a worldwide shortage of wheat, now the world is buying our wheat and we soon may not have enough for ourselves....or be able to afford it. So, aren't we stupid for wanting to put our food into our gas tanks?

Thank God there are blockbuster films opening every weekend for the next 3 months! That oughtta keep the masses occupied!:D
Click to expand...

I know! I can't wait for "The Dark Knight"! It should be awesome! ;)
 
Wandered Off

Wandered Off

Sporadic Driveby Member
How can you even think about movies when there's a steroid scandal raging in baseball? At least Congress is getting to the bottom of that.
 
Magic Man

Magic Man

Reaper of Conversation
Wandered Off said:
How can you even think about movies when there's a steroid scandal raging in baseball? At least Congress is getting to the bottom of that.
Click to expand...

You're a little behind. Didn't you know that Clemens is now in the middle of a scandal about a 10-year affair with a 25-year-old girl? (And, yes, do the math...) :D
 
Troublemane

Troublemane

Well-Known Member
OK you convinced me, I dont know what I was thinking starting this thread. I should have just titled it :BLOCKBUSTER FILMS IN RECORD NUMBERS! Economy shmeconomy! W000T!:jam:
 
sandandfoam

sandandfoam

Veteran Member
I think we're going to be the first generation in a long time that is better off than our children will be.
 
Magic Man

Magic Man

Reaper of Conversation
Wandered Off said:
Don't we know it! We've had Brad and Angelina, poor Britney Spears, and there was that awful writers strike. Terrible times afoot.
Click to expand...

I really don't know how we've come through all of these tragedies. I think it's a testament to our strength as a nation.
 
Booko

Booko

Deviled Hen
mball1297 said:
What do you mean? Is there something other than America!? :eek:
Click to expand...

Yeah, we keep teasing our son he needs to get a job in IT in Ireland so we can all move in with him.

It would be a hoot if my generation returned to The Old Country, eh?

But yeah, I expect my kids' generation to be worse off than mine, while Ireland is definitely improving.
 
Neo-Logic

Neo-Logic

Reality Checker
Yes.

I support the green movement's solar, wind, geothermals, and the likes, but NOT biofuels. Food should be eaten, not given to gas.
 
lilithu

lilithu

The Devil's Advocate
Neo-Logic said:
Yes.

I support the green movement's solar, wind, geothermals, and the likes, but NOT biofuels. Food should be eaten, not given to gas.
Click to expand...
Actually, I hear that sugar cane is a very efficient biofuel, much more so than corn. It's stupid to be using corn for biofuel given its relatively lower sugar content. (The refining process for corn also takes more energy.) The only reason why we're doing it is because we already had huge crops of corn in place because of subsidies, whereas we don't have much sugar cane and no incentive to grow more since tariffs keep the price of sugar in the U.S. artificially high. Ain't it lovely how screwed up our so-called "free-market" is?

Anyway, we shouldn't automatically throw out all considerations of biofuels just because we messed it up so badly with corn. Brazil is using sugar cane with great success.
 
Booko

Booko

Deviled Hen
lilithu said:
Actually, I hear that sugar cane is a very efficient biofuel, much more so than corn. It's stupid to be using corn for biofuel given its relatively lower sugar content. (The refining process for corn also takes more energy.) The only reason why we're doing it is because we already had huge crops of corn in place because of subsidies, whereas we don't have much sugar cane and no incentive to grow more since tariffs keep the price of sugar in the U.S. artificially high. Ain't it lovely how screwed up our so-called "free-market" is?

Anyway, we shouldn't automatically throw out all considerations of biofuels just because we messed it up so badly with corn. Brazil is using sugar cane with great success.
Click to expand...

There is still the issue of deforestation going on in Brazil to make way for cropland for biofuels.

And more important, but hardly ever mentioned, is that biofuels are not exactly renewable, because you can't make them without topsoil, and topsoil is not a renewable as one might think.

I don't think we should give up on biofuels either, but at the moment I"m more interested in the research on algae, which seems promising.

The reason corn is used to make ethanol is because we have a corn lobby. There is no better reason for it, because it's quite clear that it's not efficient compared to other biofuel sources.
 
NoahideHiker

NoahideHiker

Religious Headbanger
Troublemane said:
http://www.wbir.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=55640
Prices soar as Great Plains wheat is shoved aside - Washington Post - MSNBC.com
Food prices rising, but no shortage in U.S. - Food Inc. - MSNBC.com

When historians look back on this so-called "great experiement", will they conclude we were idiots? By having farmers grow more corn for making ethanol (so that now only 1 in ten farmers will be growing wheat), coupled with a weak dollar and a worldwide shortage of wheat, now the world is buying our wheat and we soon may not have enough for ourselves....or be able to afford it. So, aren't we stupid for wanting to put our food into our gas tanks?

Thank God there are blockbuster films opening every weekend for the next 3 months! That oughtta keep the masses occupied!:D
Click to expand...

I'm so tired of knee jerk reactions by the government. The media freaks everyone out like the world's coming to an end and the government jumps on the first bad idea that comes along...

"You mean we can make gas from corn? It takes 1.5 gallons of gas to produce 1 gallon of ethonal? We'll take it!!!"
 
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