Philpott talks ethanol 3

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1. 

   Bart Anderson Posted 5:43 pm
   08 Apr 2007

   Information denseListened to about half of the broadcast.  I think you did very well, Tom.  Actually all three guests were intelligent and articulate. I agreed with you and Isabella.  Jake was more open than I expected him to be, but my heart sank as he gave his vision of a global market in biofuels.  I think that this global market is coming, but given our experience with globalization, I'm guessing it will bring exploitation and environmental degradation.
   As I was listening, I kept thinking how much higher the intellectual level was than NPR and (it goes without saying) commercial broadcasters. There really was a lot to chew on. The host Sandra Lupien was professional and kept things moving (her manner reminded me of Amy Goodman -- a good model).
   I wonder how it would be possible to bring these issues to a wider audience?  It probably would take several documentaries to provide adquate background ... and perhaps a feature movie to make an emotional impact.
   I was dismayed to hear Jake saying that corn ethanol had a 30% energy payback.  That sounds like a lot, but in fact it is extraordinarily poor.  That's a 1.3 EROEI (Energy Returned on Energy Invested). In contrast, oil has had an EROEIs in the range of 10 to 100.
   You mentioned that corn was the biggest crop in the U.S.  You might want to make that the biggest legal cash crop.  According to The Guardian,  marijuana has surpassed even corn.
   
   Bart
   
   
   Energy Bulletin

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2. 

   Ron Steenblik Posted 8:24 pm
   08 Apr 2007

   You sounded great, TomThanks for bringing this to our attention. Thanks also for citing our subsidy estimates; unfortunately, Jake quoted numbers that were half of the actual.
   I'm glad you made the point about "organic corn" also. I've never heard of any producer growing cirb in an organic way for ethanol production.
   As to your voice, my understanding is that none of us normally hear how our voice sounds, so that when we hear a recording (which is close to how other people hear it), we often don't like what we hear.

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3. 

   Ron Steenblik Posted 8:36 pm
   08 Apr 2007

   One other pointJake buys into the idea that subsidizing biofuel crops will spur a breakthrough in the trade talks at the WTO. That is a naive and false hope. Subsidizing energy crops may help to raise prices for corn and soybean, and indirectly for crops affected by farmers planting those crops instead of wheat or cotton. But there are other contentious subsidies (and tariffs) affecting many other agricultural commodities. And, generally, while some people in government see an opportunity to reduce farm subsidies, the farm lobby is (naturally) digging in its heels.

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