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Farm Belt residents not gung-ho about ethanol plants

Posted at 1:53 PM on 13 Nov 2007

One might expect that ethanol plants would be unconditionally embraced in the farm belt, but farm families are not immune to NIMBY-ism. When plans for an ethanol distillery were announced for the outskirts of Sparta, Wis., residents concerned about emissions, odor, and, yes, the view, printed up T-shirts: "Good idea. Bad location." Residents of New Castle, Ind., are also lobbying against a proposed plant. "We're not against ethanol production whatsoever," says activist Lonnie Nation. "But if you put it where they want to, you're going to be squeezing all our homes between an ethanol plant and a prison. What will that do to home values?" Big Ethanol says opposition has been overstated.

source: The New York Times
see also, in Grist: A special series on biofuels

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Comments: (1 comment)

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NIMBY

I've never liked the term "NIMBY." It's not that it doesn't ever exist, but that there's no equivalent for the opposing view - "IMBY." A lot of communities have tried very hard to attract businesses that may be deemed undesirable for environmental or aesthetic reasons. When there are no jobs, it's easier to be IMBY.

Another problem with NIMBY is that the politics of geography are complex, and NIMBYism implies that there is simply an aversion to having industrial/big ag/nuclear facilities near one's home. But people often oppose how they run or the very idea of them (as with nuclear waste facilities). In the latter case, people may only protest when the facilities will be located in their communities, but they may be opposed to them in principle, not just because of the impact to their view.

As for the ethanol facility, the "farm belt" is not composed of farmers. Even in the most ag-dependent counties in the U.S., farmers are going to make up a small proportion of the population. I'm not surprised people there would oppose this.

by blueberrysushi at 9:23 AM on 14 Nov 2007

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