Apparently, The New York Times bemoaned the sudden downturn in the Big Ethanol business. Ten percent of the production facilities have closed, partly due to the drought - imposed reduction in corn supplies, and partly due to reduced gas usage. And while the downturn negatively impacts some jobs in the midwest, it's actually a good thing; as has been discussed on several occasions here over the years, turning food into fuel - subsidized to the tune of six and a half billion dollars a year - is a horrid concept.
Corn-based ethanol raises the price of foods across the board, from meat and eggs to tortillas, while reducing gas mileage and actually not only does not mitigate so-called "greenhouse gas" emissions; they actually increase them somewhat:
"Our results suggest that existing biofuel policies have been very costly, produce negligible reductions in fossil fuel use and increase, rather than decrease, greenhouse gas emissions," said Jaeger, a professor in the agricultural and resource economics department at OSU.
Perhaps it's best to dump the business entirely. Or at least quit subsidizing them and let the markets work as they should. If, as eventually planned, ethanol produced from waste pans out, there's no need to subsidize businesses that take food from people and animals to burn as fuel.
