Ethanol
Ethanol backlash masks a bigger energy problem
Globe and Mail / Warren Mabee / 31 March 2011
Since the mid-2000’s, prices for many food staples have been rising in real terms; we experienced a rapid spike in the summer of 2008, and are in the midst of another spike now. In between these spikes, however, commodity prices for food actually dropped dramatically, before beginning to rise again. These highs and lows can be almost perfectly correlated to the changes in oil prices observed over the same period. The problem is not food for fuel; it’s the fuel we need for food.
Disarming the Food to Fuel Conflict
Biodiversivist / Russ Finley / 06 January 2011
In this post I am going to critique an article titled:
Disarming the Food to Fuel Conflict
...which was written by someone who did not seem to be aware that his main source of information, the Renewable Fuels Association, is the nation's largest and best funded corn ethanol lobbying firm. I used the same title because it is just as applicable to my article.
Johnstown Ethanol Facility Gets a Boost
Ron Zajac in the Recorder & Times reports today:
GreenField Ethanol’s Johnstown facility will be receiving up to $110.2 million over seven years through Natural Resources Canada’s “ecoENERGY for Biofuels” program, said [Leeds-Grenville MP Gord] Brown.
The program aims to provide an operating incentive to renewable fuel producers based on production levels.
The other $7.3 million will take the form of repayable funding through the federal agriculture ministry’s “ecoAgriculture Biofuels Capital” (ecoABC) program, a $200-million initiative.
