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livingontheland - Re: [Livingontheland] op-ed piece on ethanol

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Subject: Healthy soil and sustainable growing

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Chronological Thread  
  • From: "Greg and April" <gregandapril@earthlink.net>
  • To: "Healthy soil and sustainable growing" <livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Livingontheland] op-ed piece on ethanol
  • Date: Mon, 3 Jul 2006 13:30:06 -0600

Perhaps it's because I see ethanol as more sustainable than fossil fuels and fossil fuel use as the greater threat to the environment.

Greg H.


----- Original Message ----- From: "Dan Conine" <dconine@dotnet.com>
To: <livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Monday, July 03, 2006 10:46
Subject: Re: [Livingontheland] op-ed piece on ethanol


I agree with Mark here. There are a lot of factors which are ignored in
the ethanol debate which I think shouldn't be. The problem which is
manifest is overconsumption and eventual collapse of a species. We need
to look at the Net Creativity of the human species, and what usefulness
we create vs. what we consume in resources. The idea that we have to
feed the desires for liquid fuel at all costs is the first that should
go. The second is the idea that we cannot reduce population pressure on
politicians. The third is that everyone gets to enjoy the slovenly life
of America's Dream with white picket fences and pesticide laden lawns.
The construction of an ethanol plant alone isn't worth the lost cropland
in it's footprint. The problem with feeding corn to cattle isn't
necessarily that people could eat the corn, but that the cows aren't
healthy. There is a fundamental flaw in feeding high energy foods to
cattle. They evolved to eat low energy foods, and they create a net gain
for the ecosystem when they do so.
Not only do I agree with Mark's statement "Just because we can do
something, doesn't mean we should.", I also think that we need to think
about doing the things we should do, and that they need to be done
RIGHT. The ethanol that will be produced by all that corn could easily
be replaced by a small reduction in fossil fuel use. The only farmers
who will benefit from growing large quantities of corn are the ones who
do it 'efficiently', which means without fences, cattle, or people on
their land. To be good stewards of the land, we have to be ON it.

Dan Conine
Belgium, WI,






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