ethanol - the next big scam

If you haven't heard of ethanol yet, you may want to check your pulse. Recently, at the MTV music awards, Chevy and MTV teamed up to promote biofuel (AKA ethanol, E85, FlexFuel) as being the new fuel to save the environment and eliminate our dependence on foreign oil.

I have news and it isn't good for Chevy, President Bush or the corn farmers of the Midwest. I guess the President should have done some research first before jumping on the bandwagon promoting ethanol. But, as we all know, our Government only supports the topics that put the most cash in their pockets (hint: lobbyists).

The word of ethanol's pitfalls must spread before too many Americans are convinced that ethanol is a good thing. Our tax dollars deserve to be spent on an alternative fuel source that benefits the environment and society as a whole.

Some of the drawbacks of ethanol:

• According to a study at Cornell University, ethanol production requires 29% MORE fossil energy than the fuel produced (this will make the US MORE dependant on foreign oil, not less); takes 1.3 gallons of petroleum to make 1 gallon of ethanol
  
• Ethanol does lower carbon monoxide (CO) output from your vehicle but results in an increase in nitrogen oxides (NOx) a main precursor of smog
  
• Leads to increased emissions of acetaldehyde (a toxic, carcinogenic pollutant)
• With the increased demand of corn, factory farms will be using more and more chemical insecticides, herbicides and genetically modified organisms to increase yields. This increased use of chemicals will be detrimental to the environment

The US Government has already invested billions of taxpayer dollars into ethanol. Its time to cut our loses and look for alternatives that work.