Among the issues most commonly discussed are individuality, the rights of the individual, the limits of legitimate government, morality, history, economics, government policy, science, business, education, health care, energy, and man-made global warming evaluations. My posts are aimed at intelligent and rational individuals, whose comments are very welcome.

"No matter how vast your knowledge or how modest, it is your own mind that has to acquire it." Ayn Rand

"Observe that the 'haves' are those who have freedom, and that it is freedom that the 'have-nots' have not." Ayn Rand

"The virtue involved in helping those one loves is not 'selflessness' or 'sacrifice', but integrity." Ayn Rand

For "a human being, the question 'to be or not to be,' is the question 'to think or not to think.'" Ayn Rand

18 March 2009

Renewable Power in Scientific American

The March 2009 issue of Scientific American has a brief article called "A Concise Guide to Renewable Power" by Matthew L. Wald, a reporter at the New York Times. His article starts:
Renewable energy, such as from photovoltaic electricity and ethanol, today supplies less than 7 percent of U.S. consumption. If we leave aside hydroelectric power, it is under 4.5 percent. Globally, renewables provide only about 3.5 percent of electricity and even less of transportation fuels.
It sure is strange to see someone published in Scientific American claiming that ethanol is a renewable fuel, given that it does not result in a net gain of energy. In addition, it brings the added baggage of making our food costs substantially greater and of using up many other resources to no advantage except one of more income for some farmers and for ADM and other subsidized ethanol refiners.

I should not forget that many politicians love the votes they are buying from the special interest groups benefiting from ethanol mandates. Despite the fact that these mandates clearly hurt most Americans and do not serve the purposes used to justify them, Congress still has not revoked the foolish ethanol mandates and subsidies.

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