Replacing Oil

Bob Gallant, president and CEO of Greenfield Ethanol insists that his industry is not only here to stay, but a very reasonable choice. Rising food prices continue to put pressure on production of grain based biofuel despite the argument that it’s slowing the skyrocketing cost of gasoline in Canada.

Eat it, drink it, or burn it?

According to the head of Canada’s largest biofuel producer, ethanol is “the only real defense that Western society has against the high cost of oil, which is not going down anytime soon.” Just Friday, crude oil has rose by $3 a barrel to $116, largely in response to Turkish bombing in northern Iraq. Even if the current spike in oil prices relaxes to 90-100 a barrel, ethanol is still an economical alternative. But “only real defense” is a bit strong.

MPs are currently debating legislation that would require all refiners to use at least %5 ethanol in their gasoline. The efforts will somewhat alleviate the impact of surging oil prices on Canada commuters. Critics though are attacking the plan though, claiming that ethanol production is contributing to rapidly escalating food prices around the world. The International Development Minister actually had to dodge questions relating rising food prices to ethanol production.

Lowering the supply of grain will raise it’s price, but it’s worth much more as fuel. At least that’s the argument for using top grade grain. What sensationalists groping in the dark for a culprit in the rising food price are slow to point out is this: You don’t need high (food for people grade) quality grain to produce ethanol. Also, demand for corn based ethanol is taking a backseat to cellulosic ethanol production.

Perfectly good ethanol can be produced from crap that no humans would find remotely edible. Switchgrass for example is drought resistant and grows in lousy conditions. Oklahoma has just secured 1,000 acres of land for switchgrass production, which has an even higher energy output than corn and grows where corn won’t!

Tags: Biofuel, Ethanol, food prices, switchgrass

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