Linguistic Underpinnings

We eat it in almost every processed foodstuff we buy, we feed it to our live stock, we’re starting to put it in our cars- it’s corn. America has leaned on corn for decades as a staple for food and economic well being. Can it solve our fuel issues? The debate is on. One the one hand, bio-fuels offer an economic boost to small towns-

On the other hand, bio-fuels put up to twice as much carbon in the air as petroleum based fuels-

Growing corn for bio-fuels doesn’t eliminate the need for petroleum. Were you surprised that our president,(who’s connected with oil companies) seemingly passed a bill that steered business away from his own business interests? Most corn is grown with petroleum based fertilizers, so the idea that our economy will be breaking a dependence on oil is an illusion.

As much as I don’t care for Bush and his theatrical environmental solutions he actually did mention one useful alternative -

“We’ll also fund additional research in cutting-edge methods of producing ethanol, not just from corn but from wood chips and stalks and switchgrass,” the president promised.

That’s right. Switchgrass. Switch grass grows back from the same root stock every year so there’s no need to reseed or fertilize. That’s right- an alternative fuel that could really kick the legs out from under both fuel industry and companies that have genetically engineered and hybridized most corn grown int he Midwest to be a sterile inbred variety which cannot produce fertile seeds, necessitating that farmers repurchase seeds every year.

Go Switch grass!