The U.S. Senate will likely clash once again in a floor debate this on the latest energy bill – in between whacks of the immigration apple. Much of the energy bill is a cruel joke on the American consumer and tax payer.
The provision to boost corn-based ethanol is particularly egregious. “CornThanol” does little to reduce oil imports because producing it is highly energy inefficient while it likewise does little to cut carbon dioxides emissions and global warming. The bid to promote cellulosic ethanol from prairie grass is a pipeline lacking a viable technology.
All we get out of this stupid, stupid idea is higher food prices. And by the way, corn appears someway or another in hundreds of foods – we eat the kernels, it’s a livestock feed, and every sip you take of most soft drinks is laced with corn syrup.
Peter Navarro is a CNBC contributor, business professor at the University of California-Irvine, and author of The Coming China Wars.
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