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Congress Actually Ends Taxpayer Funding Of Ethanol Subsidies

Yay!

I would support subsidies for actual “green” energy sources, however, ethanol is not one of those sources. Not only is it a net-energy loss (takes more energy to produce than what you get out) but…

“Using corn is the least productive way to make ethanol, at roughly 300 gallons per acre of feedstock. The Brazilian ethanol industry gets twice as many gallons per acre using sugar cane, and other feedstocks like switchgrass have been projected to produce up to 1,200 gallons per acre.”

So now, where is the investment in switchgrass ethanol?

Or perhaps we put a 50 cents / gallon tax on petroleum based road fuels?

(Via Green Car Reports.)

Up a bit earlier than normal this morning… here’s a collection of stuff I was reading…

Eurostar, the high-speed rail link between Paris, London and Brussels, said last week it was raising its target to cut emissions because it had already reached its original goals — three years early.

Seems to me that its time to end the moratorium on new nuclear plants. From: French Nuclear Power Cleans Up Eurostar

More on the environment:

The worst case scenario, ES&T found, would be irrigated sorghum grown in Nebraska and turned into ethanol. This would use up to 115 gallons per mile. Corn grown there would require 50 gallons of water per mile. Say good-bye to “food vs. fuel,” say hello to “Drink or drive.”

Ethanol from corn is an environmental disaster. Obama’s administration should stop the madness when it comes to subsidies for corn ethanol. From: The Water Cost of Corn-Based Ethanol

The new Wolfram Alpha “fact engine” looks like it will be pretty amazing. Here’s a series of screenshots showing examples of different types of searches.

Our friend (and Emilia’s godmother) Diane is working on a photo-a-day project. I’ve wanted to start doing this, since there are times where I’ll go weeks without taking any pictures. One of my disappointments from our recent trip to Seattle was that I didn’t take more pictures. I did grab this picture, which I’m quite fond of: