Yeah for Corn

What a good little Midwestern kid I have… For breakfast, upon her request, we ate corn.

Of recent there is a large argument about a proposed Ethanol plant in our county. The Cons say it’ll release toxins in the air and water, the Pros say what’s not to love living in IL and turning corn into fuel. Well, from what I understand it’s not really more efficient. It actually takes more energy to turn the corn into Ethanol than to refine oil, but my guess is they aren’t adding in the energy it takes for parents to raise nice young soldiers from babies to go fight in a war for oil. Yeah, yeah and the war is about spreading freedom and ending tyranny – right and I have a levee in New Orleans to sell you too.

Ok from another point of view – my minivan burns E-85 (Ethanol) and I bought E-85 last week for $1.99/gal while regular was $2.49. Yes, my mileage goes down but we did the math and E-85 has to be at least .30 cheaper to make the drop in mileage worth it. Most of the time it is, however this is only in IL and states that give a tax break on E-85. I visited my grandparents in WI a few months ago and stopped to get E-85 there at a price of $2.35.

To wrap it up here, I am for the Ethanol plant. It will bring jobs to the community, bring my cheap gas closer to home, is good for IL corn growers, is a definite solution to our oil addiction and a giant statement about America’s resourcefulness. If people are worried about the emission the plant will release – great! Hopefully, the same people will still want to monitor the plant emissions after it’s built. No better people to police a chemical factory than it’s surrounding community.