Growing pains

Here are two articles that have come out recently discussing the "failed promise of ethanol." The first that appears in the Washington Post and the most recent article in the New York Times, explain that while the push for ethanol had good intentions for energy security and the environment, there has actually been an adverse affect on greenhouse gas emissions and food prices.

Biofuels must not be abandoned, specifically those produced from cellousic materials and feed stocks such as jatropha that can grow in arid climates and does not require farmland previously utilized for food. These articles do point out however, that tax breaks and subsidies can be counterproductive environmental issues and energy independence.

The next President and Congress must take into account the issues involved with the food-versus fuel debate and the effect that is having on food price and rising populations world-wide.