Costly Bio-Fuels

Fire of Liberty

I know the White House is keen on pushing forward its energy policy that would reduce our consumption of petroleum by 20% in 10 years by replacing it with alternative fuel like ethanol but after reading this article in the Independent(A UK paper that leans to the left) I think they should think twice. According to the piece, it seems that the turn towards bio-based fuel like ethanol that the proposed plan will cause more harm to the environment than the good due to the fact that it takes 30% more energy powering the tractors and factories that are used to create such fuel as well as the fact that it will require more farmland(thus greater deforestation to produce large enough crop to make up enough fuel to replace some 20% of our current petroleum usage. Aside from the Independent's article, the production of bio-fuels will continue to create such inefficient uses of land/energy and remain a fairly expensive enterprise as long as the federal government doles out subsidies to the folks producing such fuel. Unless it is based on the private sector/venture capitalist sector, bio-fuels will remain a energy source that folks will abstain from. Like I've said before, I'm all for alternative fuels and environmentally friendly ventures as long as its vested in the private sector and isn't connected with the federal government.