Report: Ethanol Not the Answer

  • As ethanol is becoming more common, the demand for corn is driving up prices for the grain. (Photo by Lester Graham)

Using corn to make fuel for cars and trucks will cause more pollution, higher food prices,
and will not greatly reduce the country’s dependence on foreign oil. That’s according to a
recent report by several environmental groups. Mark Brush has more:

Transcript

Using corn to make fuel for cars and trucks will cause more pollution, higher food prices,
and will not greatly reduce the country’s dependence on foreign oil. That’s according to a
recent report by several environmental groups. Mark Brush has more:


About 20% of this year’s crop in the US will go into making ethanol. That’s expected to jump to 27% next year. The push for more corn-based ethanol has already led to higher food prices. A new report
says if the ethanol trend continues unchecked – it will cause more fertilizer pollution in
water – and more air pollution from ethanol processing plants powered by coal and
natural gas.


Dulce Fernandez is with the Network for New Energy Solutions – one of the groups that
put out the report. She says ethanol is not the answer:


“I think everybody is looking for one great solution to solve all of these problems. But
nobody is thinking about the great potential that is out there to reduce demands.”


Fernandez says the best way to reduce demands is for the federal government to raise fuel
economy standards, instead of subsidizing corn-based ethanol.


For the Environment Report, I’m Mark Brush.

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Trucks Sell Despite Polls

A new poll says a majority of pickup owners
support higher federal fuel economy standards,
even though those higher standards could make
trucks more expensive and less available.
Dustin Dwyer reports:

Transcript

A new poll says a majority of pickup owners
support higher federal fuel economy standards,
even though those higher standards could make
trucks more expensive and less available.
Dustin Dwyer reports:


Kevin Curtis of the National Environmental Trust says 83%
of truck owners in the poll support stricter fuel standards.


“Pickup owners really, when faced with the arguments that my pickup will
be more expensive, or, heaven forbid, my pickup won’t even be
available to me, they just didn’t believe it.”


But it’s a different story when people reach the dealer show
floor.


There, Charles Territo of the Alliance of Automobile
Manufacturers says more than half of all buyers still choose
trucks, SUVs and minivans that burn more gas.


“And until there’s a reason for consumers to make decisions other
than the decisions they’re making now on vehicle choice, it’s
going to be very hard to change the fleetwide fuel economy.”


For the Environment Report, I’m Dustin Dwyer.

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Researchers Forecast Region’s Warmer Future

  • The Horicon Marsh in Wisconsin - Researchers say global warming may mean earlier ice breakup and spring runoff, more intense flooding, and lower summer water levels. They say this could spell trouble for wetlands and the species that depend on them. (Photo by Ryan Hagerty, USFWS)

Warmer weather might sound like a welcome reprieve to a lot of people spending early spring in the Midwest. But a team of researchers is warning that in years to come, warming trends in the Great Lakes region could be bad news for business, and for people’s health. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Sarah Hulett reports:

Transcript

Warmer weather might sound like a welcome reprieve to a lot of people spending early spring in the
Midwest. But a team of researchers is warning that in years to come, warming trends in the Great
Lakes region could be bad news for business, and for people’s health. The Great Lakes Radio
Consortium’s Sarah Hulett reports:


Climate change is not a phenomenon that’s unique to the Great Lakes
region. But University of Michigan biologist George Kling says there’s
good reason to look to the Midwestern U.S. for early clues about global warming
elsewhere.


“The middle part of North America, including the Great Lakes region, warms, or has warmed in the
past, at a slightly higher rate than the globe overall. Because we’re right in the center of a continent,
and there’s less buffering impact from the oceans. So coastal areas tend to warm a little bit less, at
a slower rate, continental areas warm at a little bit faster rate.”


Kling and other researchers from the Union of Concerned Scientists, and
the Ecological Society of America, spent the last two years looking at
some of the changes that can already be seen in the region: shorter winters,
higher temperatures, and less ice on the Great Lakes during the winter
months. And Kling warns that extrapolating these trends out over the coming
decades paints an ugly picture:


“These climate changes that we project in our new report will magnify
existing health and environmental problems, and may stress our economy.”


Asthma that’s aggravated every time a heat wave hits, increased competition
for groundwater as dry weather saps wells, and financial losses in communities that once relied on
winter tourism are all distinct possibilities. And the report warns that more visible changes to the
landscape might also
be on the way.


Donald Zak teaches ecology at the University of Michigan. He says during
past periods of warming, trees actually moved north to survive. But Zak
says that kind of tree migration may no longer be possible.


“Ten thousand years ago, when species migrated across the region, there
were very few barriers to migration that we have now placed in the landscape –
like large areas of agriculture, large areas of urban development. Those
will become barriers to migration that didn’t exist following the close of the
last ice age.”


Theories about causes of the warmer weather are well known: heat-trapping
gasses – mostly carbon monoxide – are spewed from coal-fired power plants
and gasoline engines. And continued deforestation and urban sprawl help
ensure mother nature never catches up with processing it all. But the researchers who worked on
the project say solutions are available to slow the effects of global warming. The report makes the
case for raising fuel economy standards for cars and trucks. David Friedman with
the Union of Concerned Scientists says right now, there are more than 30 models of cars on the
market that get more than 30 miles per gallon. The problem, Friedman says, is that those are
mostly compact cars that don’t meet the needs of people who are shopping for pickups, minivans,
and SUVs. Friedman says for those customers, there’s no way for them to use their
wallets to show their desire for more fuel-efficient vehicles.


“When your choice is between 17 and 18 miles per gallon, that’s not a
choice. You’re probably going to choose the vehicle based on the color
and the cup holders, not the fuel economy, when the difference is only one
mile per gallon.”


Some critics say the incremental changes that would result from raising
fuel economy standards would have almost no impact on global warming.
But researchers on the Great Lakes study say resistance from policy makers
and corporate leaders doesn’t have to hamper efforts to slow the effects
of climate change. They say even choices at the household level – like
carpooling and conserving energy can help lessen the damage.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Sarah Hulett.

RESEARCHERS FORECAST REGION’S WARMER FUTURE (Short Version)

Within three decades, summers in the Great Lakes states might feel more like summers in Kentucky and Oklahoma. That’s according to results of a two-year study conducted by a team of Midwest and Canadian scientists. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Sarah Hulett reports:

Transcript

Within three decades, summers in the Great Lakes states might feel more
like summers in Kentucky and Oklahoma. That’s according to results of a
two-year study conducted by a team of Midwest and Canadian scientists.
The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Sarah Hulett reports:


The study was conducted by the Union of Concerned Scientists and the
Ecological Society of America. Researchers looked into trends that have
already shown up in the region – including shorter winters, higher
annual average temperatures, and declines in winter ice on the Great
Lakes. The study projects potential problems for the region. Anglers
might find certain fish no longer thrive in warmer waters, and
communities that rely on winter tourism might find themselves hard hit.


University of Michigan biologist George Kling is the lead author of the
report. He says the findings point to a warming trend unlike anything
the planet’s seen.


“In the next 100 years, we will have the same amount of warming that has
occurred since the last Ice Age – 10-thousand years ago.”


The report outlines approaches for slowing the effects of global
warming. They include reducing greenhouse emissions and investing in
renewable energy.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Sarah Hulett.