Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Ethanol vs. Food

I didn't realize ethanol was this food intensive:
The amount of corn that it takes to produce a 20 gallon tank of ethanol could feed one person for an entire year,” Reason magazine Science Correspondent Ronald Bailey says.
I suspect he means 20 gallons of straight ethanol, but of course it's blended with gasoline in a ratio of 1 to 4-10.

The ethanol problem is a good example of what's coming down the road: climate change is such a huge civilizational problem that any attempt to ameliorate it has (several) unexpected consequences.

1 comment:

charlesH said...

David,

That's why green nuclear should be pursued.

http://thoriumenergy.blogspot.com/

Thorium has little economic value other than as a nuclear fuel.