[Dialogue] ENERGY DEPLETION

[William Alerding]

Read the latest articles in New York Times, Scientific American, etc. 
about ethanol. It is definitely not the answer. Even if all the corn in 
the U.S. is used it would never get beyond 10 to 12% of the need. 
Besides it will cost more in the long run than gasoline and will also 
pollute the air.  Since politicians love it, you know something's 
wrong.  We need less consumption.

bil;
On Jan 29, 2007, at 10:59 AM, opossum2 at att.net wrote:

> David,
>
>  
>
> I haven't been able to come up with anything on these folks either.  
> They are obviously very deep under the radar, which makes me 
> suspicious.  Ethanol is only a tiny piece of the "solution" to our 
> energy problems, if that.  This has been expounded on in all of the 
> media to need recapitulation here.  The most positive take I have on 
> it is that at least now politicians can get rid of the (literally) 
> poisonous tobacco subsidy and still court the agricultural vote by 
> putting the funds into ethanol subsidy legislation.
>
>  
>
> Steve Rhea
>
>  
>
> Sr. Geophysicist, Seismic Micro-Technology
>
>  
>
> Houston, Tx.
>> -------------- Original message from David & Lin Zahrt 
>> <chbnb at netins.net>: --------------
>>
>> I have watched the "ethanol craze" build in Iowa. It is driven by the 
>> universal awareness that we are participating globally in Energy 
>> Depletion. I see it as a 'quick fix' being exploited by agribusiness 
>> and the oil industry.
>>
>> Ethanol will be a by-product of the corn raised in Iowa. Aside from 
>> some of the left over by-products it is a wash--we use up as much 
>> energy as we produce, and we use up (as in exhaust) an unbelievable 
>> and consistently ignored amount of water and soil resources . It is 
>> an attempt to use soil and water to turn petroleum into energy.
>>
>> The local agriculturalist believes it will help him/her because it 
>> will raise the price of a bushel of corn. At the moment the price of 
>> corn is the recipient of a price support program which means that it 
>> is sold for less than it costs to produce, the balance of which is 
>> made up by government subsidy. That, of course, allows Cargill and 
>> Archer, Daniels, Midland to purchase corn for less than it costs to 
>> produce so they can manufacture corn syrup and corn oil, ingredients 
>> that have been coveted by the fast food industry, and which have made 
>> a major contribution to the epidemic of obesity in the US.
>>
>> I would like to believe that I am looking at the real trends rather 
>> than being consumed by pessimism--that I am willing to take the 
>> 'blinders' off and face the real future we, as a society, are in the 
>> process creating. I am constantly on the lookout for individuals, 
>> groups, movements, with whom I could collaborate to set a new trend 
>> in motion. I belong to Practical Farmers of Iowa--sustainable 
>> agriculture; Iowa Prairie Network--protecting and restoring natural 
>> habitat; NW Iowa Sierra Club Group; Center for(If you know of any 
>> please inform me)
>>
>> I recently received a mailing (always suspicious of unsolicited 
>> mailings and phone calls) from a group that calls themselves the 
>> International Energy Depletion Institute (IEDI), located in 
>> Tennessee. I would scan the mailing but I am under the impression 
>> that it would have to come as an attachment and these list-serves 
>> don't accept attachments. Has anyone else received such a mailing?
>>
>> In an attempt to find out more about the IEDI I went to the internet. 
>> Google has nothing in the first 10. Yahoo doesn't either. Does anyone 
>> have information on the background of IEDI?
>>
>> The mailing was 6-8.5x11 pages. This is the beginning of one of the 
>> pages.
>> Sample from one of the pages
>>
>> "OIL IS FOOD
>> 6 BILLION HUMAN BEINGS SIMPLY CANNOT SURVIVE ON THIS PLANET WITHOUT 
>> OIL. IT IS ESTIMATED THAT THE NATURAL CARRING CAPACITY OF THE EARTH 
>> IS PROBABLY SOMEWHERE BETWEEN ONE & TWO BILLION PEOPLE AT BEST.
>>
>> This sobering assessment does not, in our opinion, take into 
>> consideration the environmental degradation of the Industrial Age or 
>> the impact of future Global Warming. Fossil Fuels have magically 
>> turned the planets depleted top soils into abundant cropland. Just 
>> take a look at the graph below. The evidence is undisputable!! OIL IS 
>> FOOD!..."
>>
>>
>> I'm asking for feedback because I think the IEDI is on to something 
>> important. I am suspicious of unsolicited mass mailings and the fact 
>> that I find no background info on the internet.
>>
>> David Zahrt
>> <chbnb at netins.net>
>>
>>
>>
>
> From: David & Lin Zahrt <chbnb at netins.net>
> Date: January 29, 2007 9:18:07 AM EST
> To: Order Ecumenical <OE at wedgeblade.net>, Dialogue ICA 
> <Dialogue at wedgeblade.net>
> Subject: [Dialogue] ENERGY DEPLETION
>
>
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