It's Final -- Corn Ethanol Is Of No Use

We are going to have to strike a balance. 

I like the world that oil has made though I'm a realist and understand that once the oil is gone things are going to have to change.  Sure there are other sources to extract our hydrocarbons but, they aren't cheap.

So lets go down the list, what is made from oil?  Plastic, Fuel and Lubes.  The big one here is plastic and all of the byproducts of plastic which includes things like trash liners, car interiors, computer parts and those bags we store our food in.  No oil, no plastic

Unless, we make them from corn which is part of the topic of this article.

The report lists many potential negative risks of development, such as direct conflicts between land for fuels and land for food, other land-use changes, water scarcity, loss of biodiversity and nitrogen pollution through the excessive use of fertilizers

So, the challenge will be how to create food for "us" with enough extra to give us all the luxuries we have grown accustomed to.  That means smarter farms, better wastewater collection and most importantly, farmers.  Sadly, "bad farmers" are responsible for the destruction of the "Great Barrier Reef" and a number of production farms that blanket California and all because of a rise in land prices and a reduction of farm profits.

I grew up in a region that was full of farms, ranches, dairies and over the past several years all of that choice land has turned into housing developments.  Heck, the house I built is part of a development that was once a farm and all of the good soil got scraped away during the development process requiring me to haul in dirt just so I could have grass.

Cheaper and faster isn't always the right solution even though it seems like the right path.

Related Web URL: http://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesconca/2014/04/20/...