I hate E85 and biofuel made from Corn
I am sick and tired of BioFuel technology. Okay. not a true statement. I hate CORN BASED BIOFUEL technology.
I hate it with a passion, an overwhelming passion.
I am tired of paying $3.50 for a gallon of milk. I am tired of everything in the store having it's price raised.
Do you have ANY idea of the many many thousands of products we eat every day that contain substances derived from corn?
Do you realize the reason all the food products have gone up so dramatically? It's not recession.
It's FUCKING CORN BASED BIOFUEL. And Biofuel can be made from many other food products, easily and cheaply grown, and the conversion process is the same. Multiple countries use sugar beets to make their biofuel. We use corn.
Cows eat corn. Cows give milk. Milk goes up because the price of corn went up when they started making biofuels from it. Farmers, who are in this for the money....now grow corn for biofuel, instead of feed. So corn is more expensive.
Cheese is made from milk. See how expensive cheese has gotten? Notice the price at your favorite pizza place?
Corn Syrup is one of the main sweetening ingredients in our foods. Everything that uses it has gone up in price.
Medications contain corn. It is used as a filler in the pills. Medications have gone up. Even the generic prices are rising.
Infant formula is ridiculous. Cookies, crackers, noodle products, it just goes on and on.
And there is a rumor that biofuel doesn't help the environment any more than just burning plain old petroleum based fuels.
It does however, in theory, reduce our dependence on OPEC. I am all for that.
But for pete's sake, use something ELSE to make the biofuel.
posted by: surrogate (reply)
post date: 03.25.08 (5:23 am)
I'll condense this and still try to make a point. Back in the seventies, my father-in-law worked for G.M. he was a mucky-muck in R&D and a brilliant man. He worked for ten years on this project for GM at their behest and on their dime. He figured out that if all we did was plant the areas between the eastbound and westbound, and northbound and southbound highways across the country with plants indiginous to the area (for instance, sugar beets in Michigan, corn in Iowa, etc.) we'd produce enough raw materials to COMPLETELY convert to alcohol based fuels even with the technology available then. At the time he was involved in Brazil going to alcohol for the bulk of their automotive fuels.
After ten years, they simply came to him and shut down the project - at the time G.M. was going through a bad time economically, and his along with hundreds of other projects were scrapped. He didn't think thee was anything nefarious about it, but I read a lot of his material and it sure seemed to work on paper.
It's all just a decision. We can find all kinds of ways to power autos if we decided to. Don't worry, the corn thing won't last. I'd guess three years before someone realizes that just about anything will do - with a little imagination and elbow grease.
posted by: fractalmom (reply)
post date: 03.25.08 (5:36 am)
yeah. i agree with it not lasting, but sheesh!! we gotta pay those prices until then. THAT SUCKS !! Gas is bad enough, but it impacts your driving, you get more organized, and simply drive less.
What are we supposed to do? Are employers going to give raises so people can afford to eat?
Dave and I live fairly comfortably on roughly 45k a year (his VA disability). Because we live in a rural area, it is a little easier.
But honestly, my food bill has doubled in the last year. When a family of four is now spending roughly 1/4 of their take home income on simply FOOD, not cleaning products, not wine and cigarettes, not unnecessary things, simply food....then it impacts everyday life. When I am telling the girls to go easy on the milk and drink koolaid which I absolutely hate to do, but 3 gallons of sugar free koolaid mix is $1.89 and one gallon of milk on SALE is $3.33, then it quickly becomes a problem.
I went to the grocery store last night. 5 # of 70/30 HAMBURGER was 16.78. Cows eat corn!! $3.35 a pound for hamburger????
We have been eating alot of pork. Pigs eat ANYTHING and grow. Pork is about the only thing that won't raise. Chickens eat corn too.
posted by: chrisflea (reply)
post date: 03.25.08 (3:49 pm)
Wow! $3.50 a gallon for milk! That is CHEAP where I am from. ON SALE milk is $5 a gallon. ON SALE!!!
but I do agree it is ridiculous.
posted by: fractalmom (reply)
post date: 03.25.08 (5:27 pm)
Reply to: chrisflea
yeah. lol. i remember when i first got to hawaii. i was totally amazed at the prices of milk and bread. but when you consider that the only herd of cows is on niihau??? it's ALL gotta be brought in.
