stanj

Beware of the Allure of Ethanol Investing

We should all be extremely opposed to ethanol ( although I have made $ on fertilizer stocks ).
It is not something to be a fan of.
There are 2 problems AND THEY ARE NOT CONNECTED.

1. Greenhouse gas emissions; they are real and not some R Limbaugh rant.
2. Reaching peak oil supply, it all does downhill after ~ 2015.

Ethanol may help with # 2, BUT it hurts # 1, tremendously. Corn and cellulose
require trucks and energy to transport ( no pipelines). They take farmland out of food production. They require heat sources for their distillation. Have you ever stood near a still ?
Ethanol burns, giving off the greenhouse gases H2O and CO2.

And the resulting high prices of corn and basic cereal crops have led to food riots around the world ( Africa, Indonesia, Mexico, Haiti, etc.)
We, the rich, should not be fans of something which lets us fictitiously lower gas prices at the expense of the lives of the poor.

We are living in a sea of energy; we are bathed by the sun and living on top of geothermal. Renewable sources - solar, wind, wave, hydroelectric, geothermal, etc. are all available. GE, STO etc. have all invested in these heavily.
Such sources would let us solve #1 and #2 simultaneously.

Hey, Ziz I'll join you in a bottle of Wild Turkey anytime.