Corn talk on Berkeley radio

Philpott talks ethanol

Posted by Tom Philpott at 4:18 PM on 08 Apr 2007

Read more about: shameless self-promotion | energy | ethanol

My face may be made for radio, but I don't especially like the way my voice sounds. Even so, I accepted an invitation to talk ethanol on today's Sunday Salon show on Berkeley's KPFA radio station.

I'm glad I did. The host, Sandra Lupien, was very well-prepared and asked great questions. The other guests were Isabella Kenfield, who has done great work about Brazil's ethanol program as a freelance journalist there; and Jake Caldwell, who is an energy researcher for the Center for American Progress.

Jake doesn't buy my harsh critique of corn ethanol or Isabella's of Brazil's program, but he does argue that ethanol could do much better with regard to sustainability and human rights.

Anyway, check it out (mp3).

For story: Corn talk on Berkeley radio
3 Comments | Post a Comment

Information dense

Listened to about half of the broadcast. I think you did very well, Tom. Actually all three guests were intelligent and articulate. I agreed with you and Isabella. Jake was more open than I expected him to be, but my heart sank as he gave his vision of a global market in biofuels. I think that this global market is coming, but given our experience with globalization, I'm guessing it will bring exploitation and environmental degradation.

As I was listening, I kept thinking how much higher the intellectual level was than NPR and (it goes without saying) commercial broadcasters. There really was a lot to chew on. The host Sandra Lupien was professional and kept things moving (her manner reminded me of Amy Goodman -- a good model).

I wonder how it would be possible to bring these issues to a wider audience? It probably would take several documentaries to provide adquate background ... and perhaps a feature movie to make an emotional impact.

I was dismayed to hear Jake saying that corn ethanol had a 30% energy payback. That sounds like a lot, but in fact it is extraordinarily poor. That's a 1.3 EROEI (Energy Returned on Energy Invested). In contrast, oil has had an EROEIs in the range of 10 to 100.

You mentioned that corn was the biggest crop in the U.S. You might want to make that the biggest legal cash crop. According to The Guardian, marijuana has surpassed even corn.

Bart
Energy Bulletin

by Bart Anderson at 12:43 AM on 09 Apr 2007

You sounded great, Tom

Thanks for bringing this to our attention. Thanks also for citing our subsidy estimates; unfortunately, Jake quoted numbers that were half of the actual.

I'm glad you made the point about "organic corn" also. I've never heard of any producer growing cirb in an organic way for ethanol production.

As to your voice, my understanding is that none of us normally hear how our voice sounds, so that when we hear a recording (which is close to how other people hear it), we often don't like what we hear.

These are only my personal opinions.

by Ron Steenblik at 3:24 AM on 09 Apr 2007

One other point

Jake buys into the idea that subsidizing biofuel crops will spur a breakthrough in the trade talks at the WTO. That is a naive and false hope. Subsidizing energy crops may help to raise prices for corn and soybean, and indirectly for crops affected by farmers planting those crops instead of wheat or cotton. But there are other contentious subsidies (and tariffs) affecting many other agricultural commodities. And, generally, while some people in government see an opportunity to reduce farm subsidies, the farm lobby is (naturally) digging in its heels.

These are only my personal opinions.

by Ron Steenblik at 3:36 AM on 09 Apr 2007

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