Blue Crab Boulevard

Here’s A First

I think this is the only time Paul Krugman and I have agreed on anything. Today he notes the skyrocketing price of food and lays the blame for it where it belongs: diverting food to make biofuel. Oh, he notes several other factors, but he really cuts loose on the production of ethanol.

The subsidized conversion of crops into fuel was supposed to promote energy independence and help limit global warming. But this promise was, as Time magazine bluntly put it, a “scam.”

This is especially true of corn ethanol: even on optimistic estimates, producing a gallon of ethanol from corn uses most of the energy the gallon contains. But it turns out that even seemingly “good” biofuel policies, like Brazil’s use of ethanol from sugar cane, accelerate the pace of climate change by promoting deforestation.

And meanwhile, land used to grow biofuel feedstock is land not available to grow food, so subsidies to biofuels are a major factor in the food crisis. You might put it this way: people are starving in Africa so that American politicians can court votes in farm states.

Oh, and in case you’re wondering: all the remaining presidential contenders are terrible on this issue.

Amen to that. I have spent a good deal of time writing about the problems biofuels are causing globally. It is interesting that Krugman is on the same page. Mind you, his "solution" is rather ridiculous: more food aid. How in the world does giving away more correct a short supply? What is really needed is a complete rethinking of the value of biofuel and serious attention being paid to the real energy equations involved rather than the spin of advocates.

UPDATE: Tom Maguire calls out Krugman for a patently false statement in his column:

Paul Krugman, who wrote in Jan 2007 that "There is a place for ethanol in the world’s energy future — but that place is in the tropics" today tells his readers that even Brazilian ethanol is contributing to food shortages worldwide. Hmm, maybe ethanol is not such a great idea - who knew?

So how does this affect our assessment of the Presidential candidates? Here is Krugman:

Oh, and in case you’re wondering: all the remaining presidential contenders are terrible on this issue.

Oh, and in case you are wondering - Krugman is lying.

Obama has consistently supported ethanol subsidies and voted in favor of those subsidies in a 2005 energy bill.

Hillary favors some subsidies but opposed the relevant 2005 amendment.

And John Sidney McCain has consistently opposed ethanol subsidies and voted on Hillary's (losing) side in 2005.

Tom has quite a bit more as well. I have been calling ethanol a boondoggle and a scam for quite some time. But then I work in the energy field and understand the science involved. Or rather, lack thereof when ethanol proponents go on about it.

Energy, Environment | Gaius Monday, 7 April , 2008

By Bob, Monday, 7 April , 2008 @ 5:50 am

We did biofuels for 10,000 years using grains to fed draft animals like oxen, horses, etc. In the late 1800s it took 30 % of the annual grain harvest to keep these biofueled motors going. Then, we got efficient, cheap petroleum fuels and real engines, and the draft animals disappeared, freeing up food for people.

By the way, muscle powered societies are also slave societies.
By Maggie, Monday, 7 April , 2008 @ 9:16 am

Well, I hate to say "I told ya so …"
I saw this coming a few years ago when the whole, "Hey, great idea! Let’s use our food supply for fuel! That’s MUCH better than dealing with OPEC! Yeah, that’s the ticket." mentality was born.
Can we PLEASE start drilling in ANWR and the Gulf areas, among others on our OWN territory … and build another refinery or two or three? Maybe use more nuke power?
You do that and watch the cost of OPEC oil drop like a hunk of lead ore into the ocean.
By Mockinbird, Monday, 7 April , 2008 @ 12:46 pm

Corn was invented for drinkin’…ummm, oh yeah, and eatin’.
By sam, Monday, 7 April , 2008 @ 3:03 pm

I think it is an illustration of what happens when the government puts their thumb on the scales of the market in the form of farm price supports and tariffs. But I am cynical that the problem will be reversed any time soon.