Corn ethanol isn't the solution

To the editor:Alan Journet's op-ed column on transportation alternatives puts the issue in a nutshell: Corn ethanol is a scam that does not achieve the objectives for which it is touted, and it constitutes more of a drain on our environment and limited resources than a solution to problems of climate change and dwindling oil supplies.

It is depressing to see so many politicians of both political parties blindly jumping on the corn ethanol bandwagon and not only providing billions of dollars of taxpayer subsidies to the distillers, but also developing legislation that requires corn ethanol to be incorporated into gasoline we buy at the pump. Rather than supporting a worthless energy alternative, these politicians should be using tax dollars to support possible solutions that might actually help, solutions such as the plug-in electric hybrid, improved fuel efficiency standards and generating electricity from renewable or perpetual energy resources.

The U.S. House recently passed legislation that would require utility companies to incorporate renewable energy sources into their portfolios of energy production. Meanwhile, the U.S. Senate approved a bill that would increase, for the first time since 1975, the energy efficiency of automobiles. Both items are critical. We must encourage the House-Senate committee that will reconcile these bills to include both items in the final resolution. Additionally, we should demand that the boondoggle of taxpayer subsidies for corn ethanol distillers be terminated and the requirement that ethanol be included in gasoline be eliminated.

MARJORIE CAVEY, Cape Girardeau