Obama and Ethanol: Is it Just About Winning Votes?
Obama is the first candidate in a long time that I have believed in and thought might actually be above politics as usual. With the Democratic nomination cinched, I fear his campaign has moved into tactics designed to win votes that may not truly express his my ideals. From faith-based reform to liquid coal, Obama is making blunders that are shaking his liberal base in order to appeal to more moderate voters. His long standing support of corn ethanol subsidies is another example that appears he is selling out for votes, or maybe I have misunderstood him from the start and created an ideal candidate that does not exist.
Ethanol is an alternative biofuel that can be made from corn, sugar cane, or switchgrass. In fact, Henry Ford’s first mass-produced automobile was designed to run off of 100% ethanol, so the fuel has a long history in the car industry. When added to gasoline, ethanol reduces ozone formation by lowering volatile organic compounds and hydrocarbon emissions. This all sounds good, but there is controversy surrounding corn-based ethanol. Michael Grunwald of Time reports that one person could be fed for a year “on the corn needed to fill an ethanol-fueled SUV”. Some research demonstrates that the production of corn ethanol consumes more energy than it yields, and there is concern that corn-based ethanol is raising the price of food, although the USDA denies the increase is significant.
If you’ve ever driven through the midwest, you’ve seen acres upon acres of corn growing in this fertile land. Obama reigns from Illinois, the second largest corn producing state. He has been cozying up to the corn ethanol industry for quite some time. According to Plenty Magazine:
When Obama campaigns in the corn belt, the Times reports, he often brings along his friend Tom Daschle, the former Senate majority leader, who now serves on the boards of three ethanol companies… And Obama himself has cozied up to corn ethanol, courting controversy early in his Senate career by accepting subsidized travel on jets owned by Archer Daniels Midland, the country’s largest ethanol producer.
I don’t have a problem with ethanol per se, but I am concerned that Senator Obama favors corn-based biofuels over other alternatives. Obama supports multibillion dollar subsidies for corn ethanol, as well as a steep 54-cent-a-gallon import tariff on the cheaper and more efficient sugarcane ethanol. This sounds just like politics as usual, instead of looking at what is best for our environment. Obama admits, “Look, I’ve been a strong ethanol supporter because Illinois … is a major corn producer.” Despite these concerns, I still believe Obama is the best candidate.
Image: Kables on Flickr under a Creative Commons License
Related posts on Obama’s energy policies and Ethanol:
- Low Impact Living: Who’s the Greenest? Obama vs. McCain
- Bill McKibben Discusses Obama, the Dems, and the Environmental Movement [video]
- Obama: Blame the Iraq War for Lack of US Climate Change Leadership
- Which is Worse: Exporting $1 Billion Per Week or Growing Fuel?
- 2015: 30% of US Corn Harvest Will Be Gasoline
- How Green Are Biofuels? Comparison Chart [PIC]
well done post. wish i could stay as informed as you, but these posts do help. i’m afriad in order for obama to win in the current political culture, he’ll have to pander and play the game to some degree. what i want to know is what alternatives to these corn-based ethanol subsidies do we have that are ready for mass-production? more reading/research . . .
Ethanol is bad all the way around. No politician should support it, and the industry should be left to die.
I’m sorry but you’re mistaken. Obama is not the alternative energy candidate. He voted for the Bush Cheney Energy Policy. John McCain did not. The Oil & Gas sector has given more to Obama than all other candidates combined. Corn ethanol, Obama loves that idea. McCain not so much. McCain wants to lower tariffs on Brazilian ethanol and eliminate subsidies to corn ethanol producers. Why? Because it makes sense. Corn ethanol only nets 1.3 times the fossil fuel energy required to produce it, sugar-based ethanol can return 8 times the fossil fuel energy.
There are many reasons to vote against John McCain but energy is not one of them.
Obama is nothing but duplicitous. He is a fraud, an empty suit. At least with John McCain, I know what I am getting. This Democrat will be voting GOP for the first time.
What about solar? It doesn’t produce emissions and the sun is always there? I think the candidates are ignoring this viable alternative
Here are a few extra statistics on ethanol as a substitute to gasoline coming from Lester Brown, author of Plan B 3.0..
If all the corn crop grown in america right now were used to create ethanol, it would only supply 15% of our automobile’s needs.
To supply ethanol for every car in america at our current consumption rates, we would have to cover 97% of the country’s land mass in corn.
World grain consumption has outpaced world grain production 7 of the last 8 years.
All in all, turning our food (which is becoming a little scarce on the global scale) into fuel is just not a good idea.
The biofuel movement is a political host. It polls well, because it appears that candidates are being “green” when they support biofuel production, but it is really not an ecologically beneficial alternative. The production of biofuels encourages maximum yield agricultural techniques that tax the soil and overuse fertilizers and pesticides (See article on biofuels’ environmental impact
I want to thank everyone for their great comments. I think it is important to remember that ethanol can be made from switchgrass, which apparently is resistant to roundup now. Also, corn is grown in this country for cattle feed too, not just human consumption. If we cut down on our meat consumption, there might be more cropland available to grow biofuels. Also, corn is a heavy feeder, and may have been responsible for wiping out ancient civilizations, such as the Maya, because of soil depletion. All biofuels are not created equally; there are too many options out there, like algae diesel, to dismiss them.
Good post, Jennifer. Readers interested in learning more about the full extent of federal and state subsidies to biofuels might be interested in checking out the two studies on the United States by the Global Subsidies Initiative, downloadable from this web page. (Scroll down to the bottom of the page.)
Great post Jennifer, and great points in your comments. There are still ethanol solutions out there–corn is just not one of them. As you say, cutting down on meat consumption, along with driving less would do wonders. Conservation can start today, we can wait for the right bio-fuel (just not too long i hope).
thanks everyone for the great comments. lots of great information and resources. am going to do a little more research now . . .