Thoughts Cubed™

May 25, 2005 a senate panel votes, unanimously, to encourage ethanol production. The Panel was lead by Senator Jim Talent (r-Mo) in a response to higher gasoline prices. The oil industry opposed the plan clamming that the wide use of such a policy would lead to higher food prices.

Then that same year, 2005, Congress instructed the Environmental Protection agency to enforce the Renewable Standards Act. Which required at least 7.5 billion gallons of renewable fuels be added too and blended into our existing fossil fuel by the year 2012. And so starts the process that is giving us higher food prices today.

Now jump forward to 2008 looking at two staple we all need, back in Feb 2006 corn was $2.28 per bushel just a few months ago Feb 2008 the price per bushel rose to $5.46. This is almost double the cost in just 24 months. Wheat another staple food item was $3.48 per bushel in Feb 2006; now in Feb 2008 it is $11.21/bushel.

Why is the price of basic food elements climbing so fast? Because we are burning our food crops to fuel our cars, trucks and lawn mowers. So we cause a shift in the food paradigm. We create an entirely new use and market for crops that are scarce in the world today. Maybe the crops are not scarce today in America but large parts of the world are starving. People are dying every day because they do not have any food.

Then here in America, not only do we waist food, but now we burn our food crops for transportation. The rest of the world is watching and now trying to import more food crops. They just want to protect their own countries food supply. The result is again, more pressure on the food supply that results in higher prices. We are truly dumb americans.

We need to stop the push for ethanol as a renewable fuel before we all starve to death. I would rather have the option of not filling up my car at $9.00 a gallon for gasoline opposed to not being able to eat.

We were getting ready for an airplane trip in two weeks. Then I realized that I had lost my driver license. No problem we have two weeks left, right. I will just go the DVM and get a replacement. Well replacements take four to six weeks. So I checked the DMV web site and there was some information about, after a disaster the DMV would issue a temporary with a photo. Plus I knew that new drivers also get a temporary driver license with a photo. So on Monday I will get a temporary with a photo.

So after waiting the entire weekend, I’m off to the DMV office bright and early only to find out that people with an existing driver license cannot get a temporary driver license with a photo. Now that just does not make any sense. The DMV will issue a temporary with a photo to someone that has never had a license before or if you lost your license in a disaster. BUT not if you just lost your license. All the information is in the DMV computer, your photo, driver license number, SSN, address etcetera; so there should be no question about who you are. But the DMV will only issue a temporary without a photo.

OK So now how are you going to pass the TAS screening check point at the airport without a driver license as your photo ID. Normally the TSA will only accept a Government issued photo identification card, Driver license, military ID or a passport. But all you had was a driver license.

You have time to cancel your trip this time. But image, your on vacation and your Government issued photo ID was stolen our lost. You cannot just cancel your flight home. You’re stuck somewhere. Question start running through your mind on what to do. Should I stay and let my spouse and other family member return without me? Where will I stay? How will I get a government issued photo ID when I do not have the required document to get one? After all who travels with their birth certificate or the other necessary documents? And it is against the law to have two driver licenses. So who know how long you’re going to be stranded somewhere.

UPDATE 01/14/2008 — I talked with a former higher up from the TSA. He informed me that You can travel WITHOUT a goverment issued photo ID. If the airlines give you a boarding pass, TSA will make you a “selectee” if you have no official ID with a picture. So, you can still go, but you will get “special, extra” screening.

What we are going to do is get our passports renewed an keep them active. That way we will have a second means of “Government issued photo ID”. And on a trip we will never keep the two in the same place.

So why did I spend the time to write this. Just to point out how Dumb the system can be some time, like not issuing a temporary ID with a photo. And two; if you travel a lot plan ahead. Get two legal forms of government issued photo IDs so you do not get stuck somewhere unless you’re in some place like Hawaii!

How dumb are we? We have the American government and corporate America promoting and encouraging us to burn our food supply to power our cars. The thing is we are buying the that line of thinking as it makes us feel good because we are using a renewable green product too fuel our cars.

Look at this government site www.fueleconomy.gov or look at GM site pushing Flex-fuel cars www.gm.com. All push the idea of burning our food (bio fuel) for fueling our cars.

We start using grain to make ethanol gasoline also know as bio fuel for automobiles because it is renewal. Then look at what is happening to the price of our food. As we burn more grain the cost of feed for live stock starts going up. The price increase in grain will work its way to your table as higher prices for milk, meat and grain based products (breads and breakfast cereals). The basics food needs for all us. Do not forget that the farmer needs grain for his live stock. That live stock is used to make milk, cheese and other dairy based products. So if we keep burning grain to fuel our cars, that puts a higher demand on grain and prices go up. And food prices will continue to go up as we migrate from petroleum fuels to grain based fuels.

Ok, so let use other crop products for fuel. Like switchgrass, it grows fast, can grow in a wide area in North America, has a better yield per acre then corn and it is not a food crop. Great idea so then we will not be burning our food supply to fuel our cars. So more the farmers can grow switchgrass and make lost of money turning that cash crop into fuel to power our cars. Everyone wins! But now the farmers will stop growing food crops and use their land to grow cash rich fuel crops. So now there is less acreage being farmed with food crops and more land dedicated to fuel crops and what happens to food prices, they go up.

We need to stop burning our food to power our cars! Before you know it we will be all starving to death as we drive our cars powered by our renewable, green fuel. As we will not be able to buy food due to the ever increasing price, or there will no be any food to buy.