Green Hypocrites

Remember when everyone was touting ethanol, and the government mandated that refineries put more and more ethanol into their formulas? As it turns out, we find that government interference and ethanol aren't as green as they're cracked up to be. Yet the Obama administration won't back down in the face of scientific evidence.

What's wrong with government interference and ethanol? Well, for one thing, farmers started wiping out forested land and wetlands so they could grow corn to keep up with the rising demand and prices. In the process, they destroyed habitat and contaminated water supplies with fertilizers and pesticides. Obama -- the President who won't allow the Keystone pipeline -- presided over the conversion of over five million acres of conservation land. That's more than Yellowstone, the Everglades, and Yosemite combined. And the Gulf of Mexico dead zone (where marine life can't survive) has increased in size.

Many scientists and environmentalists now say that ethanol is bad environmental policy. "I'd have to think really hard to come up with a scenario where it's a net positive," said Silvia Secchi, a Southern Illinois University agriculture economist. However, Obama, the green hypocrite, continues to stand by the ethanol mandates.

"Golden corn not so green." The Dallas Morning News; November 12, 2013; p. 4A.