[Dialogue] Re ENERGY DEPLETION

[Ellen & David Rebstock]

Not only are we using up the soil and water resources to grow corn for ethenol  but coal fired power plants in the mid-west are providing the energy to convert the corn into ethenol causing more global warming.  The net gain in energy is considerably less than the gain that Brazil gets from using sugar cane to make ethenol.  Of Course, we could import sugar cane from Cuba to make ethenol. 

Michael Pollan spoke at a book signing at our Library in Santa Rosa. He has some excellent examples of solutions to the farming dilema in Iowa particularly a farm in Virginia that uses a form of crop rotation to grass feed cattle and chickens while caring for the land.  This is a book well worth reading.

Another good book on Food is "Seeds of Deception"  Subtitled "Exposing Industry and Government Lies about the Safety of the Genetically Engineered Foods You're Eating" by Jeffrey M. Smith.  Also Ms. Bono produced an excellent Video called "The Future of Food" that you should see. You can get it on the internet at The Future of Food web site.

We showed Gore's Inconvenient Truth at our Church last night and had an excellent art form conversation afterward.  It was the third time I'd seen it and I get something new each time.  Also, the DVD version has an adendum where Gore brings all of his statistics on tempurature, CO2, climate, and the effects on the glaciers up to date for 2006 at the end in a separate section.  He also talks more about the ocean effects on coral in the world and consequently the effects on fishing.  I can't figure out why Gore is pushing ethenol but we still need to push as many people to see this movie and others such as "The Great Warming" that tell more about what we can do.

One conclusion that is easy to make from all of this is the massive effect of the global Corporations and the media have on what we are being fed in propaganda.  One example in The Inconvenient Truth is Gore's sampling of Scientific articles that shows that Zero articles concluded that global warming wasn't caused by man but a pole of media articles on the same subject came up with over 50% saying that there isn't surety that it is caused by man and there is nothing to worry about because it is just part of a cycle.

Dave Rebstock.


  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Karl Hess 
  To: Colleague Dialogue 
  Sent: Monday, January 29, 2007 9:28 AM
  Subject: Re: [Dialogue] ENERGY DEPLETION


  Pretty much the whole corn economy is a fraud. You can be sure Archer Daniels Midland is behind it.  The recent book on this is  The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan.  There was an interview with him on NPR not that long ago.  The book is copyrighted 2006.


  The mainstream media will not cover this, certainly not the Lehrer New Hour.


  Karl


    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




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