America is finally comprehending the severity of the threat that global warming and energy dependence pose to America’s future. However, Congress’ strategy to pass countless ethanol production tax incentives has merely caused the production of corn-based ethanol to explode across the Midwest, with little effect on resolving the issue. In fact, Congress has burned the bridge by passing tax incentives and tariffs that in no way have produced any real positive progress.
The increasing demand for corn is a well-deserved godsend for the hardworking farmers who have traditionally struggled to make ends meet. However, the rest of America is shelling out billions of dollars in tax breaks that will never amount to anything productive, only increased prices for anything corn-based. Don’t think that just because you might not drive you are unaffected by rising corn prices. That six-pack of beer you throw down on Third Friday is five to 10 cents more expensive. The problems with ethanol could fill a library.
To start, ethanol lowers the efficiency of gasoline, providing only 62 percent of the mileage of gasoline.
Environmentally, research shows that when compared to gasoline, ethanol produces 12 percent less “greenhouse” gasses. However, researchers also said ethanol has “markedly greater” releases of nitrogen, phosphorous and pesticides into waterways due to contaminated runoff from cornfields, and they find more smog-causing pollutants in each unit of ethanol than in gasoline.
Economically, erroneous tax incentives artificially create demand for ethanol and cause the price of corn-based food products like tortillas and even beer to increase in price more quickly than inflation does. The cure for America’s woes is closer than we think. Instead of focusing on corn-based ethanol, Congress should reallocate its funding for more research, conservation and incentives for other alternative fuels like cellulosic material, sugar-based ethanol, solar power and nuclear power.
Sugar-based ethanol is clearly gaining traction in Brazil. However, in America, states so heavily subsidize sugar cane that it is cost-prohibitive to turn sugar into ethanol. Also, Congress’ attempts to encourage ethanol production have destroyed the ability to import cheap sugar cane ethanol by authorizing a 51-cent-per-gallon tax credit on domestically-produced corn ethanol and a 54-cent tariff on imported Brazilian ethanol. This results in a domestic cost for sugar that is almost twice as expensive as the world market price.
Last year, the U.S. price for raw, unrefined sugar was 20 cents per pound, compared with just less than 12 cents abroad. I can’t help but picture rich oil men in west Texas just sitting back and watching America waste time and money on corn-based ethanol while revolutionary technologies aren’t getting the attention they deserve. China and India are going crazy for nuclear power. Brazil has had sugar cane down for years.
But we continue to twiddle our thumbs.
