Ethanol is a farce. It takes more energy to produce than it produces! A combination of environmental naive nuts and wacko politicians foisted it on the nation. Now we have a huge, wasteful, inefficient ethanol energy complex supported by another idiot government bureaucracy and funded by the American taxpayer. Thank you so much.
Yes, farmers and agribusiness are getting richer but the environment suffers. More and more acreage is put into production using genetically modified crop requiring heavy fertilizer and pesticide dosing. Production of ethanol is a terribly inefficient process requiring more energy to produce than it results in. Smart, eh?
This is what happens when science is disregarded for political expediency. Ah, the heavy hand of government. Why people have so much faith in politicians is beyond me.
The production of ethanol is certainly one reason why food prices are rising, but is most definitely not the only reason. The rise of Chindia (China & India) and the collapse of the US dollar are the main reasons for rising commodity prices. And, you ain't seen nothing yet. If you are shell-shocked, as I am, at what's happening to the prices at the grocery store now, wait another 6 to 9 months.
There was this DJ at the college radio station KALX named Tim Burr. It made this story more convincing. College radio DJs taking corporate jobs and stealing punk culture on behalf of their new masters... is nothing new. :-)
Less driving is not going to lower the cost of oil or reduce imports, because international demand will continue to climb. Less driving will happen as prices in the US continue higher, but only by a small amount.
Coal and nuclear are great for keeping the lights on, but not for powering automobiles. Coal or nuclear power cannot be turned into liquid fuels. Battery powered cars are still very expensive. Ethanol is not a great solution, but its better than no solution and it's the beginning of an industry to find alternatives to importing oil and sending money to our enemies.
A much better solution is to drill our own oil in Alaska.
Yes, there is such a thing as emergency contraception, aka the Morning After Pill. You can learn about it here:
http://ec.princeton.edu/questions/index.html
Personally, this was one of the more compelling things I heard in this discussion. I also am not keen to support pharmacies that refuse to sell a legal pharmaceutical product to people who need it.
As for the forcing manufacturers to do things, that's what I mean about the size issue. I don't want to add my money to a behemoth so large that it can force its suppliers to change their way of doing things. For the same reason, after reading in Fast Food Nation about the huge changes McDonalds brought to the beef industry, MickeyDs is not my favorite place to spend money either.
Dr Bronner and Organic Consumer Association have been producing a lot of noise about the use of the word organic in personal care products... What I found interesting is: in order to make Dr. Bronner soaps they use CAUSTIC SODA (very, very corrosive) and of course not a natural or organic product... and at my best knowledge it is not included in the allowed synthetic ingredient list of USDA NOP. So it should not be part of a formula of a product named "made with organics"....
Also in their labels they just state saponified organic oils, without stating how they make those soaps nor the INCI names (a FDA requirement) of the ingredients used to make those shower gels, soap, and others.... So as Dr. Bronner said once, they should perfect their selves first and then go after other pointing out their fingers....
I agree with almost all of that: Monetary policy choices are causing inflation, which is the cause of both rising food prices and the falling dollar--they're really the same thing. Food prices will continue to rise (due to inflation and climate issues). Farmers make their crop choices to maximize their long-term profits as best they can.
I think, though, that you're wrong about energy. Ethanol may be useful around the edges, as a way to turn coal or nuclear power into liquid fuel, but it offers no hope for a significant drop in oil imports.
Really, only one thing offers any hope for that: driving less. And we're going to get less driving, one way or another. I expect, though, that it'll be the other way--oil imports will drop first, due to supply issues, rising international demand, and the falling dollar we were talking about. Then we'll get less driving. It won't be much fun, though, even for the people (like me) who'd like to see less driving.
Guest- I was thinking the same thing about the health benefits of dry milk while I was reading this these posts. Thanks for adding that from Nourishing Traditions. We are not being very frugal if we end up having to pay thousands and thousands in medical costs in 20 years. Having money is one thing...having your health is another.
I read this article and I got madder and madder. I thought this was the most outrageous thing I had ever heard. But I could see some people doing it (come on Apple fanboys, you know some of you were considering it).
I completely agree with what the previous person commented on...I have been saving up money and living rather cheaply (not going out, not buying things that I don't need) and my friend had commented about that. I told her I was saving up money for a down payment for a house. She called today saying she needs a big favor from me and needs to borrow some money to fix up her car and pay her rent. I feel very uncomfortable doing this. First of all, she is always getting her nails done and going out every weekend and buying alcohol. The other thing is that I have been duped before by another friend who stated she was in dire need for paying her rent, bills. I gave her money which she later spent on buying clothes. She then asked me again later, but this time asked for a loan because she had nobody else who could help her. Of course, being the sucker that I am, I lent her the money...and never got any of it back. When I later was injured and could not work, she kept hinting at her financial problems. I couldn't help her even if I wanted to because I had no income coming in. When I told her so, I didn't hear from her for a very long time. Now that she's getting married, she's contacting me again. Perhaps wishing for a wedding gift. The whole thing has left me so jaded. However, I feel bad for my new friend here who needs money for her car and rent. She says no one else can help her. However, this is my hard-earned money that I saved and I know my limiting of how much I'll "give" her will put a strain on our "friendship." I don't know why I care so much but my parents went through financial troubles and no one helped them and my mom comments on how she had wished someone would have come along to help them the way she now helps others, and the way I help others too. I guess the whole thing is you should only give what you can afford to lose. Never expect it back, that way you'll be pleasantly surprised when someone actually does return your money back.
Our energy problem is only with liquid fuels --- > OIL. Ethanol is the BEST alternative to start reducing our oil imports today ... while the engineers Build new technologies to solve the problem in the future .. or the political pressure gives in and we start drilling oil in Alaska. The governments' money policy is the primary reason for inflation .. the dropping dollar .. not ethanol. The farmers are reducing their corn crop to make more money with other crops. Ethanol or not, food prices are going to continue to rise all around the world as natural disasters and droughts continue to increase.
I'd only help in a true emergency, like if I know someone's house burned down or they were in the hospital for something. Even then, I prefer to give to family over friends.
I don't mind paying for lunch or a coffee, basically anything under $20 is a nonissue although I must admit that the next time we're out I'll expect reciprocity. I always get it; I must have a great group of friends.
One of the most awkward moments ever was when my husband talked me into going out with his coworker and wife, at their invitation. When the bill came, they said they didn't have the money for it. My husband looked at me (the card carrier for what I thought would be our half) and I paid. I was especially mad because his coworker ordered multiple beers and ran up quite the tab. We've never been invited to their house, they've never invited us out again, and against my protests they are occasionally invited to parties. They show up empty handed every time - surprise, surprise. I can hardly look at them, I am still livid because I feel so used. My husband feels like they're "poor", which I guess is relative because all I see is their cars, etc. and I know they could've paid if they valued the potential for a real friendship with me.
Does anyone else find that people who know you're saving money and paying off debt will ask for money as soon as they find this information out? A friend of mine told our other friend that she had a large chunk saved, and within a week that friend had a $10k emergency crop up with a loan request. I refuse to feel guilty or obligated because I'm on the road to fiscal responsibility.
I couldn't just let Sassy's comment go... She stopped shopping at Target because the pharmacists wouldn't fill "emergency contraception and birth control prescriptions?" Philosophical and even moral issues aside, is there really such a thing? No offense intended, but my head is spinning over that one.
Target is a generally more enjoyable shopping experience because their stores are less cramped, brighter lit, and overall displayed better than Wal-Mart. Yup, such things do matter sometimes.
I get the feeling that Target preys less upon it's workers than Wal-Mart. And I've not heard anything about Target pressuring small communities into giving them unfair perks as an incentive to move in. But maybe that's only because Wal-Mart is getting the lion's share of the press?
I've certainly heard nothing about Target forcing manufacturers to create lower-quality lines of their merchandise the way that Wal-Mart has done many times.
Ethanol is a farce. It takes more energy to produce than it produces! A combination of environmental naive nuts and wacko politicians foisted it on the nation. Now we have a huge, wasteful, inefficient ethanol energy complex supported by another idiot government bureaucracy and funded by the American taxpayer. Thank you so much.
Yes, farmers and agribusiness are getting richer but the environment suffers. More and more acreage is put into production using genetically modified crop requiring heavy fertilizer and pesticide dosing. Production of ethanol is a terribly inefficient process requiring more energy to produce than it results in. Smart, eh?
This is what happens when science is disregarded for political expediency. Ah, the heavy hand of government. Why people have so much faith in politicians is beyond me.
The production of ethanol is certainly one reason why food prices are rising, but is most definitely not the only reason. The rise of Chindia (China & India) and the collapse of the US dollar are the main reasons for rising commodity prices. And, you ain't seen nothing yet. If you are shell-shocked, as I am, at what's happening to the prices at the grocery store now, wait another 6 to 9 months.
We are living in a new world, folks.
that was a good one!!
There was this DJ at the college radio station KALX named Tim Burr. It made this story more convincing. College radio DJs taking corporate jobs and stealing punk culture on behalf of their new masters... is nothing new. :-)
Philip
Less driving is not going to lower the cost of oil or reduce imports, because international demand will continue to climb. Less driving will happen as prices in the US continue higher, but only by a small amount.
Coal and nuclear are great for keeping the lights on, but not for powering automobiles. Coal or nuclear power cannot be turned into liquid fuels. Battery powered cars are still very expensive. Ethanol is not a great solution, but its better than no solution and it's the beginning of an industry to find alternatives to importing oil and sending money to our enemies.
A much better solution is to drill our own oil in Alaska.
Yes, there is such a thing as emergency contraception, aka the Morning After Pill. You can learn about it here:
http://ec.princeton.edu/questions/index.html
Personally, this was one of the more compelling things I heard in this discussion. I also am not keen to support pharmacies that refuse to sell a legal pharmaceutical product to people who need it.
As for the forcing manufacturers to do things, that's what I mean about the size issue. I don't want to add my money to a behemoth so large that it can force its suppliers to change their way of doing things. For the same reason, after reading in Fast Food Nation about the huge changes McDonalds brought to the beef industry, MickeyDs is not my favorite place to spend money either.
Dr Bronner and Organic Consumer Association have been producing a lot of noise about the use of the word organic in personal care products... What I found interesting is: in order to make Dr. Bronner soaps they use CAUSTIC SODA (very, very corrosive) and of course not a natural or organic product... and at my best knowledge it is not included in the allowed synthetic ingredient list of USDA NOP. So it should not be part of a formula of a product named "made with organics"....
Also in their labels they just state saponified organic oils, without stating how they make those soaps nor the INCI names (a FDA requirement) of the ingredients used to make those shower gels, soap, and others.... So as Dr. Bronner said once, they should perfect their selves first and then go after other pointing out their fingers....
Is every single LifeRemix blog going to be joketown today? Gah, how useless.
At least yours was clever.
The chlorine soaking e-mail is a myth according to snopes.
Good article. The key is to take proper advice like you mention.
Got me! I was actually considering one before the truth dawned on me. I have a big, ugly mole on my face; how much worse could an Apple tattoo be?
@Curt:
I agree with almost all of that: Monetary policy choices are causing inflation, which is the cause of both rising food prices and the falling dollar--they're really the same thing. Food prices will continue to rise (due to inflation and climate issues). Farmers make their crop choices to maximize their long-term profits as best they can.
I think, though, that you're wrong about energy. Ethanol may be useful around the edges, as a way to turn coal or nuclear power into liquid fuel, but it offers no hope for a significant drop in oil imports.
Really, only one thing offers any hope for that: driving less. And we're going to get less driving, one way or another. I expect, though, that it'll be the other way--oil imports will drop first, due to supply issues, rising international demand, and the falling dollar we were talking about. Then we'll get less driving. It won't be much fun, though, even for the people (like me) who'd like to see less driving.
Guest- I was thinking the same thing about the health benefits of dry milk while I was reading this these posts. Thanks for adding that from Nourishing Traditions. We are not being very frugal if we end up having to pay thousands and thousands in medical costs in 20 years. Having money is one thing...having your health is another.
I read this article and I got madder and madder. I thought this was the most outrageous thing I had ever heard. But I could see some people doing it (come on Apple fanboys, you know some of you were considering it).
Then I remembered what day it was. Good job
I can't believe I fell for it. To be fair people get stupid tattoos all the time, the story was really believable.
I would bet that the pictures you used are from someone who actually got the tattoo.
Can it really be considered an April Fool's Day joke if you posted it at 21:52 on March 31st? Seems like that's cheating to me!
(I did fall for it, though. :-)
Where'd you get the pictures?
I was really looking foreword to this. bummer.
I thought it was funny and a part of me think it wouldn't be that far from the truth.
Happy April Fools Day!!! Excellent post in the spirit of the holiday -- for a second I believed it :)
This "April Fools" gag is unfunny, blindingly obvious, and a total waste of web space
*grumbles* I'm so gullible. Well done.
I completely agree with what the previous person commented on...I have been saving up money and living rather cheaply (not going out, not buying things that I don't need) and my friend had commented about that. I told her I was saving up money for a down payment for a house. She called today saying she needs a big favor from me and needs to borrow some money to fix up her car and pay her rent. I feel very uncomfortable doing this. First of all, she is always getting her nails done and going out every weekend and buying alcohol. The other thing is that I have been duped before by another friend who stated she was in dire need for paying her rent, bills. I gave her money which she later spent on buying clothes. She then asked me again later, but this time asked for a loan because she had nobody else who could help her. Of course, being the sucker that I am, I lent her the money...and never got any of it back. When I later was injured and could not work, she kept hinting at her financial problems. I couldn't help her even if I wanted to because I had no income coming in. When I told her so, I didn't hear from her for a very long time. Now that she's getting married, she's contacting me again. Perhaps wishing for a wedding gift. The whole thing has left me so jaded. However, I feel bad for my new friend here who needs money for her car and rent. She says no one else can help her. However, this is my hard-earned money that I saved and I know my limiting of how much I'll "give" her will put a strain on our "friendship." I don't know why I care so much but my parents went through financial troubles and no one helped them and my mom comments on how she had wished someone would have come along to help them the way she now helps others, and the way I help others too. I guess the whole thing is you should only give what you can afford to lose. Never expect it back, that way you'll be pleasantly surprised when someone actually does return your money back.
Our energy problem is only with liquid fuels --- > OIL. Ethanol is the BEST alternative to start reducing our oil imports today ... while the engineers Build new technologies to solve the problem in the future .. or the political pressure gives in and we start drilling oil in Alaska. The governments' money policy is the primary reason for inflation .. the dropping dollar .. not ethanol. The farmers are reducing their corn crop to make more money with other crops. Ethanol or not, food prices are going to continue to rise all around the world as natural disasters and droughts continue to increase.
I'd only help in a true emergency, like if I know someone's house burned down or they were in the hospital for something. Even then, I prefer to give to family over friends.
I don't mind paying for lunch or a coffee, basically anything under $20 is a nonissue although I must admit that the next time we're out I'll expect reciprocity. I always get it; I must have a great group of friends.
One of the most awkward moments ever was when my husband talked me into going out with his coworker and wife, at their invitation. When the bill came, they said they didn't have the money for it. My husband looked at me (the card carrier for what I thought would be our half) and I paid. I was especially mad because his coworker ordered multiple beers and ran up quite the tab. We've never been invited to their house, they've never invited us out again, and against my protests they are occasionally invited to parties. They show up empty handed every time - surprise, surprise. I can hardly look at them, I am still livid because I feel so used. My husband feels like they're "poor", which I guess is relative because all I see is their cars, etc. and I know they could've paid if they valued the potential for a real friendship with me.
Does anyone else find that people who know you're saving money and paying off debt will ask for money as soon as they find this information out? A friend of mine told our other friend that she had a large chunk saved, and within a week that friend had a $10k emergency crop up with a loan request. I refuse to feel guilty or obligated because I'm on the road to fiscal responsibility.
I was reading this other thread today and think it has value for this community as well: http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/010104.html
I couldn't just let Sassy's comment go... She stopped shopping at Target because the pharmacists wouldn't fill "emergency contraception and birth control prescriptions?" Philosophical and even moral issues aside, is there really such a thing? No offense intended, but my head is spinning over that one.
Target is a generally more enjoyable shopping experience because their stores are less cramped, brighter lit, and overall displayed better than Wal-Mart. Yup, such things do matter sometimes.
I get the feeling that Target preys less upon it's workers than Wal-Mart. And I've not heard anything about Target pressuring small communities into giving them unfair perks as an incentive to move in. But maybe that's only because Wal-Mart is getting the lion's share of the press?
I've certainly heard nothing about Target forcing manufacturers to create lower-quality lines of their merchandise the way that Wal-Mart has done many times.