Super Eco

Photo credit: GP Schools

Ethanol promises to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil, which is why it received $3 billion in government subsidies in 2007 out of $4.7 billion earmarked for renewable energy. In addition to these subsidies (tax credits, to be more precise), U.S. auto manufacturers are given incentives to create flex-fuel cars that can run on up to 85% ethanol (E85). Most cars can tolerate 10% ethanol, so it’s been mixed with gasoline in some states already. If you live in the Midwest, chances are your car has been sipping it for a while and emitting less carbon dioxide as a result. No big deal really. After all, ethanol was used in Henry Ford's first automobile, the Quadricycle. 

Ethanol and autos have been going steady for more than a century, so it's about time the relationship got serious. And it has, here in the U.S. As a nation, we’re first in terms of ethanol production and in line to meet the Energy Policy Act of 2005 ’s requirement that 7.5 billion gallons of renewable fuel be used in 2012. So what's the source of trouble in this marriage?

Hint: It comes on a cob.

Ethanol accounted for roughly 3.5% of U.S. gasoline use in 2006, but it required 14% of the U.S. corn supply and will require a much higher percentage in the future. Corn’s edibility is a big strike against it, and so is its vulnerability.

Flooding in the Midwest threatened the corn crop this summer, causing a spike in ethanol prices. That coincided with unprecedented oil prices, other food shortages, and rising food prices. International food rioters directed much of their vitriol at U.S. farmers. Farmers like to be able to feed people; it’s what they’re good at. Putting food into cars doesn’t feel right, and it doesn’t look like such a great investment right now either. In fact, several ethanol plants have closed recently due to poor profit margins.

“If there was a secret vote, there is a pretty large number of people who would like to reassess what we are doing,” Representative Jim McGovern, Democrat of Massachusetts,told The New York Times back in April.

 In the current economic climate, it's hard for politicians to take a public stand against renewable energy, but there are some legitimate concerns about corn ethanol. It produces only 25% more energy that it takes to make, making it much less efficient than the cane sugar variety, which Brazil uses. Plus, there’s the ecological cost of farming so much corn: carbon released, pesticides and fertilizer used, irrigation water drained from aquifers. Some studies have shown, too, that ethanol creates more smog than gasoline. Did I mention that ethanol is also more volatile than gasoline?

In general, the green community would prefer the huge federal and state subsidies and tax credits go toward other alternative energy projects (like wind and solar) or maybe bikes. Ethanol burns cleaner than regular gas, but it’s certainly not better for the environment than riding a bike made out of bamboo, hemp, and tire oats.

The honeymoon with corn ethanol may be over, but, to be fair, our expectations were unrealistically high. Wall Street is always on the lookout for a bright, shiny bubble. Fuel made from corn? Perfect! Not only will it help decrease our dependence on foreign oil, but it will help out a struggling sector: agriculture. We’ll not only save farms, but the world! Cue the violins, please.

The violins appear ready to play a dirge now, not Pachelbel’s Canon, but before everyone grabs a handful of dirt, let’s take a moment to reflect. Yes, corn ethanol wasn’t a great idea. But…we can’t have a second generation biofuel without having a first, and we've learned a lot. So thanks, corn ethanol. You’ll find a gift bag (made of chic, sexy switchgrass) in the green room.

Let’s hope the sequel to corn ethanol is better than the original. Sometimes that happens. Not with Caddyshack II, Grease 2, Blues Brothers 2000, or Teen Wolf Too, but The Empire Strikes Back was definitely better than Star Wars. Same goes for Terminator 2 and The Godfather: Part II . Granted, the originals were pretty good in those cases, but that just means there’s a lot more room for growth or potential for Ethanol 2.

First, we need a new name. Nobody wants the stink of a loser attached to the hope of the future. “Cellulosic Ethanol”. Really? That’s what we’re going with? And we’re going to sell that to farm communities and towns that are going to rely on this industry for their jobs and livelihood?

Corn, people get. They may not be thrilled about putting it into their gas tanks, but they understand corn. “Cellulosic ethanol” isn’t gettable; it’s forgettable. Worse, really. What do you do for a living? Mabel and Walt: “We work at the cellulosic ethanol plant.” Whew. I can smell the stink of that plant already.

We did some focus groups on this name, right? We don’t need something Orwellian, like the Patriot Act, but something that doesn’t evoke associations with thigh fat would be nice.

What’s it made of? Fibrous things like straw, switchgrass, and sawdust? Hmmm. The demand for straw muffins, switchgrass bread, and sawdust pancakes isn’t all that great. Maybe it’ll work.

At least our expectations of scale should be realistic from here on out. With climate change, we tend to get hurricanes, tornadoes, and Biblical type storms, not predictable or moderate weather, so we may not get the same crop yield from year to year.

Weather is only one of the reasons why we shouldn’t bank everything on one crop. Funneling down our food sources to just the genetically optimal makes us vulnerable. If a new type of boll weevil arrives and totally digs the only kind of corn we grow, it’s going to suck. Even if we raid all the seed banks, including the one in Antarctica under all the snow (there’s still snow up there, right?), a lot of people are going to be waiting for that first tomato to get red enough to eat.

Plus, there are the kids to think about. They’ll want food to eat, sure, but also some books about vegetables other than corn and animals other than cows, chickens, and pigs. Jack & the Beanstalk, for instance. Wait. Maybe that’s it: bean fuel. Or magic beans. Jack’s stalk grew pretty big. A couple dozen of those and problem solved! Way better than corn or switchgrass. We’ve just got to make sure kids don’t climb up the stalks or we anger the big giant in the sky.