Texas wanting exemption from biofuels mandate

Saw this today on the Wall Street Journal's site. We're (Texas) trying to be exempted from the Federal mandates of producing 36 B gallons of biofuels in the next decade and a half. The problem, and yes it really is a problem, is that first generation biofuels compete with too many precious resources, namely: food, water, and land.

In particular, the competition with food has been making headlines lately, and we're not immune to this in Texas. The price of feed is going up, which translates to higher costs down the line. Creating fuel from food isn't a smart practice. While the mandate to increase biofuels production is nice, at it's current state, it's not working out.

This is not to say biofuels are a bad idea. I wholeheartedly believe that 2nd and 3rd (yes, we're already talking about those) biofuels will be the interim solution for transportation. Feedstocks such as cellulose for ethanol and algae for pretty much everything (biodiesel, ethanol, JP8, hydrogen,..) will be important in the next few years.

Contrary to what Mr. Dickerson of EERE said yesterday, I believe that food vs. fuel is a real problem, and I laud Gov. Perry for taking this on. This may be one of the few times where I actually agree with Gov. Rick Perry. Go ahead and quote me on that. He was Ag. Commissioner at one time, so it would make sense for him to be on this.

For once it's not California raising a big stink about Federal programs.

Fueling Starvation

The U.S. is slated to divert up to 18 percent of its grain harvest exports this year for domestic ethanol production. This is the result of the so-called "Biofuels Security Act," an incredibly irresponsible bill requiring 10 billion gallons of biofuels by 2010 (30 billion by 2020 and 60 billion by 2030).

Not surprisingly, the bill was sponsored by Senator Tom Harkin (IA), and co-sponsored by the likes of Senators Joe Biden (DE), Barack Obama (IL), Ken Salazar (CO), Tim Johnson (SD), and Byron Dorgan (ND).

This legislation will have perverse effects not only in the U.S., but because the U.S. is one of the world's largest food exporters, the artificial run-up in food prices also affects the world price of food. According to the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the price of "food on the table" (food prices plus international transportation costs) has already risen by 74 percent in the world's poorest countries.

Affecting the basic food needs of the world's marginal populations goes beyond just bad energy policy. The legislation, largely aimed at subsidizing agribusiness in the sponsoring Senators' home states, is not only irresponsible, it borders on immoral.

Cartoon Courtesy of Michael Ramirez, October 30, 2007. http://www.ibdeditorials.com/CartoonsMonthly.aspx?m=21#