October 18, 2010 08:29 PM UTC

NRDC says kill the Corn Ethanol Subsidy

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• by: CoalCreekWildfire

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) says Corn Ethanol pollutes more than the oil it replaces. The biggest government incentive program has wasted $20B subsidizing a polluting corn ethanol industry. The NRDC urges Congress to let the subsidy expire instead of considering a $31B five year extension.

“Biofuels are … derived from corn, from sugar cane, and they’re being presented as a way of achieving energy independence. The trouble is, of course, that the biofuels drive up the price of these commodities, which means that poor people can’t afford them anymore” according to Raj Patel, author of Stuffed and Starved: The Hidden Battle for the World Food System.

Corn futures soared almost 50% since June to almost $6 following an EPA decision to expand Ethanol from 10% to 15% in gasoline blends and lower USDA harvest forecasts.

Let the VEETC Expire: Moving Beyond Corn Ethanol Means Less Waste, Less Pollution and More Jobs, Natural Resources Defense Council, 8/25/2010, http://www.nrdc.org/globalWarm…

Amy Goodman, Interview of Raj Patel, author of Stuffed and Starved: The Hidden Battle for the World Food System, DemocracyNow.org, 4/8/2008, http://www.democracynow.org/20…

Tennile Tracy, New Policy Fuels High-Octane Debate: Permitting More Ethanol in Gasoline Angers Oil, Food and Car Interests, But May Lift Grain Sales, WSJ.com Autos, 10/14/2010, http://on.wsj.com/9gaRuv