In article , Charlie wrote:

"From the news these days you'd think farmers have never had a better
friend than ethanol. Headlines holler that corn prices are soaring and
that at this moment farmers are planting more acres of corn than they
have in the last 50 years. Reporters writing about the ethanol boom
are throwing around words like gold rush, jackpot, and nirvana. But if
you actually are a farmer, ethanol and the high corn prices it brings
is looking less and less like a blessing -- and more like a curse."

Full article at:

http://alternet.org/environment/52073/

"We won't get fooled again"
Charlie

Won't get fooled again Charlie? Maybe not this way but, there are lots
of ways to fool us. I have to admit though, it is a conceit that I would
aspire to.

Reading along in "Omnivore's Dilemma", it takes just over a calorie of
fossil fuel to get a calorie of corn. Back in the 1940's, before
chemical fertilizers, the yields were lower BUT you got 2 calories out
for every calorie put in (crop rotations and manure).

Pause to scratch head and ponder. So if we are going to be expanding our
production of corn, who wins? Exxon, Shell, BP, et al. win. Why are we
growing more corn? To lessen our dependancy on oil. What do we need to
grow more corn? More oil. I think we can all join the farmers here by
dropping our shorts, grabbing our ankles, and pray someone hasn't thrown
sand into the vaseline.

I really got to go plant those 'maters.

- Bill

Coloribus gustibus non disputatum (and bang those damn pots)