What are the repercussions of making ethynol?

Question

when we grow corn to make ethenol we take nutrients out of the soil, and the soil will eventually be devoid of those nutrients and the land will become wasteland.

Answer 1

After a recent trip to Mexico, the largest complaint is produce.  Corn is a major commodity the average Mexican consumes on a daily basis (tortillas, etc.).  Since farmers are getting a higher price by selling the corn to ethanol producers in the US, the price of corn has risen 2-3 times the average amount.  

For most people in the US, this is no problem, just an inconvenience.  For the average Mexican, this is a major economic crisis to each household.

Answer 2

There are quite a few environmental trade-offs to ethanol production. For an excellent discussion of some of those, see:

Ethanol and the Environment

http://environmentalalmanac.blogspot.com...

There is also a good general discussion of ethanol, how it works in cars, and some of the trade-offs at How Stuff Works. See:

How E85 Ethanol Flex Fuel Works

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/how-e85-et...

For some news articles about the downside of ethanol, see:

Corn boom could expand ‘dead zone’ in Gulf

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22301669/

Ethanol Demand Threatens Food Prices

http://www.technologyreview.com/read_art...

The Price of Biofuels

http://www.technologyreview.com/read_art...

I hope this helps. If you have more questions or need further information, please let me know.

Laura Barnes, M.S.L.I.S.

Illinois Waste Management and Research Center Library

Answer 3

well I'd say the main problem with it is that our manufacturing process of ethanol uses oil to produce it....so it seems like we are becoming less dependent on oil when in fact, we are just using it in a different place.

Answer 4

The three main ones are, 1. What it is made out of i.e. we should not use food crops and or genetically alter those food crops to make fuel (which Monsanto has already done). 2. The main push behind ethanol is the oil industry, because they know it will help keep them in business longer. 3. It is still a carbon emitter, however it is carbon in a cyclical pattern and not stored carbon (F.F.) from 100's of millions of years ago.

Answer 5

prices up...for wheat/corn/soybeans and almost all foods.....dollar down...