Ethanol

I want to address the new (or not so new) alternative fuel that is being forced down out throats by the government, as is titled the said fuel is Ethanol.

I want to know why the government continues to consider it's citizens stupid or idiotic! Who in their right minds thinks that Ethanol is a good idea? Please let me know because as of this writing, I cannot find anyone that is outside the government who thinks that this is the answer to the alternative fuel issue.

Let me inform you as to the reasons why I think Ethanol is a bad idea. First, we are the first civilization in the history of the world that is burning their food supply. Never before on the planet has their been a people who thought that having fuel was more important than food. Does this sound even slightly rational to anyone? Second, the government is subsidizing the farmers to grow corn for the express purpose of harvesting the corn and turning it into fuel. While this may be making the farmers happy, they are finally making an incredible profit from their labor. What is not being told to you is for the first time in our nations history, we had to import wheat for consumption. We have always been referred to the worlds breadbasket because we have always been able to produce SO much more food than we needed that we were able to donate food to most other third world countries. Not any more, we can't even grow enough wheat to feed ourselves. Third, the amount of Ethanol that is being produced is not enough to even make a dent in the fuel consumption. We would need a farm the size of Texas to grow enough corn to make a 15% reduction in the use of oil (at present usage rates). Does anyone have any idea how big Texas is or how many farms it would take to equal that amount of land. I certainly don't and I don't really think anyone else has the foggiest idea either. Fourth, it costs $1.29 to produce a $1.00 worth of Ethanol. That means that we are actually losing .29 cents in it's production. Only the government could say that this is a good idea, if you or I tried to run our budget this same way, we would be thrown under the jail, never mind in it. And last, it doesn't work. Ethanol eats away at the rubber seals that are in almost all vehicles produced today with the exception of multiple fuel vehicles. What this means to you the consumer is that you are going to be forced to buy another vehicle that will sustain this type of fuel or you will be forced to pay repair fees for the damage that this fuel will do to your existing vehicle. Either way, we as the consumer lose. Think about that when you see the Ethanol signs at the fuel stations.

The government is not interested in pursuing other alternative fuel sources, it have invested too heavily in the Ethanol program to admit that it is a failure. Instead, they force us to burn our food supply to continue to proceed with this failed policy. All you need to do is listen to the presidents address that was on television today (4-29-08) and listen to how he answers questions regarding the price of oil and the pursuit of alternative fuel. He repeatedly goes to the Ethanol program and never once addresses any other viable alternative fuel sources. This is all you need to hear to know that the government is going to pursue this program at the demise of it's citizens. We are going to continue to spend more money at the pumps, we are going to continue to give billions and billions of dollars to our enemies with the purchase of oil from countries that have made it clear that they are not our friends.

Now I believe that you should not make a complaint unless you have at least an idea of how to fix the problem. My idea is Hydrogen! Hydrogen technology already exist and can be implemented now ( not in five to ten years, minimum). The hydrogen vehicles have been around for almost 20 years and the technology has only gotten better. Their were hydrogen cars that were being driven around back in the late 70's and early 80's with great results. The technology was abandoned due to Saudi Arabia slashing oil costs so low that the technology costs more to implement than staying with oil. By abandoning the Hydrogen program, our government has made slaves out of us to every oil producing county that we are now forced to buy oil from. We now work so we can afford gas, not food. The funny thing is, we are paying more for both, and will continue to do so in the foreseeable future. We have made a huge mistake that will take generations to fix (if it can be fixed at all).

Please contact your Congress person, Senator, and even the White House and let them know that you are not supporting a policy that supports burning our food supply for fuel. Tell them to seek other alternative energy sources (such as Hydrogen) instead. Let them know that we will not allow this county to be turned into a third world country by the policies they are implementing. Come election day, make your voice heard! Vote out anyone who is supporting this insane policy.

Let the free market take care of the alternative fuel problem, it always outperforms the government whenever it is allowed to proceed. Let the free market proceed. Quit subsidizing the farmers to grow corn instead of wheat. Discontinue the policy of taking kickbacks from the farming lobby to continue this insane practice. Do what is right for the country, not what is right for your pocket.

As always, I welcome your feedback or comments. Earl