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CORYDON, Iowa (AP) - The hills of southern Iowa bear the scars of America's push for green energy: The brown gashes where rain has washed away the soil. The polluted streams that dump fertilizer into the water supply.
Even the cemetery that disappeared like an apparition into a cornfield.
It wasn't supposed to be this way.
But the ethanol era has proven far more damaging to the environment than politicians promised and much worse than the government admits today.
As farmers rushed to find new places to plant corn, they wiped out millions of acres of conservation land, destroyed habitat and polluted water supplies, an Associated Press investigation found.
Five million acres of land set aside for conservation - more than Yellowstone, Everglades and Yosemite National Parks combined - have vanished on Obama's watch.
Landowners filled in wetlands. They plowed into pristine prairies, releasing carbon dioxide that had been locked in the soil.
Sprayers pumped out billions of pounds of fertilizer, some of which seeped into drinking water, contaminated rivers and worsened the huge dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico where marine life can't survive.
The consequences are so severe that environmentalists and many scientists have now rejected corn-based ethanol as bad environmental policy. But the Obama administration stands by it, highlighting its benefits to the farming industry rather than any negative impact.
Farmers planted 15 million more acres of corn last year than before the ethanol boom, and the effects are visible in places like south central Iowa.
The hilly, once-grassy landscape is made up of fragile soil that, unlike the earth in the rest of the state, is poorly suited for corn. Nevertheless, it has yielded to America's demand for it.
"They're raping the land," said Bill Alley, a member of the board of supervisors in Wayne County, which now bears little resemblance to the rolling cow pastures shown in postcards sold at a Corydon pharmacy.
Wow, this news is about 10 years out of date. The idiocy of using corn for biofuels is well established.
As for putting the blame solely on Obama, I believe the initiative was started in 2005. Passed by a Republican controlled House and Senate. Of course, Obama kept the program going.
But again, we've known about the low energy yield and the environmental problems of corn ethanol for a decade (or more) and no one has said boo about it until today.
I know, and that poor typewriter industry that just kinda fell by the wayside because computers were better. Dammit!
If you're really that concerned about the environment, quit eating meat.
Yep.
55 square feet of rainforest is destroyed for every single hamburger you eat.
Stop pretending you're concerned about the environment and put your money where your hamburger-gobbling mouth is.
This thread was started just to slam Obama.
its actually worse than people realize. old farms that should have been used to grow feed corn for making ethanol, were locked up by the government which forced the farmers to find new farm land. personally i like ethanol as a fuel, but it could have been done so much better than it was, and now the weight of the government is really starting top screw things up all around. and the really sad thing is that we didnt have to use corn to make ethanol either, we could have gotten far better yields using sugar instead, which would still have affected food prices, but no where near as badly, and in reality we wouldnt have missed the loss of the sugar stocks because the world makes so damn much of the stuff.
its actually worse than people realize. old farms that should have been used to grow feed corn for making ethanol, were locked up by the government which forced the farmers to find new farm land. personally i like ethanol as a fuel, but it could have been done so much better than it was, and now the weight of the government is really starting top screw things up all around. and the really sad thing is that we didnt have to use corn to make ethanol either, we could have gotten far better yields using sugar instead, which would still have affected food prices, but no where near as badly, and in reality we wouldnt have missed the loss of the sugar stocks because the world makes so damn much of the stuff.
Sugarcane, switchgrass, even hemp would've all been better choices.
Sugarcane, switchgrass, even hemp would've all been better choices.
i fully agree with that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by weltschmerz
Yep.
55 square feet of rainforest is destroyed for every single hamburger you eat.
Stop pretending you're concerned about the environment and put your money where your hamburger-gobbling mouth is.
This thread was started just to slam Obama.
oh please, rainforest are you kidding? most of the beef that americans consume come from right here in america, or from our neighbors to the north. brazilan beef goes to feed their population, and those of south america.
as for slamming obama, given his contemptible behavior in office, he deserves to be slammed as hard as you liberals slammed bush.
I know, and that poor typewriter industry that just kinda fell by the wayside because computers were better. Dammit!
LOL, explain how ethanol is better? It cost a lot more, it's questionable the amount of energy producing it is worth what you're getting out of it etc. That's besides the fact it is ruining engines not designed for it, any idea how much gas I waste dumping gas back out of my small engines? I guess I could go buy the regular gas they sell at the chain shop for $8 a quart.
This initiative was started under the Clinton administration spearheaded by Gore. He cast the deciding vote in the Senate mandating it's use in 1994.
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