Bad for the environment
http://www.bigpictureagriculture.co...lion-acres-of-crp-land-in-five-years-334.html
The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), at 27.1 million acres, is down by 26 percent, or 9.7 million acres in the past five years and corn acreage has increased by 13 million acres.
"If you visit one of the USDA’s websites promoting the benefits of the Conservation Reserve Program, you will see a long list including the following:
• Reduces soil erosion by an estimated 450 million tons per year, compared with pre-CRP erosion rates.
• Protects surface waters from sediment and nutrient enrichment with enrollment of 1.8 million acres of streamside grass and forested buffers.
• In prime pheasant habitat, a 4 percent increase in CRP grassland acres was associated with a 22 percent increase in pheasant counts.
• Sequesters 50 million metric tons of carbon dioxide annually in soils and vegetation on enrolled lands.
• Includes 8.3 million acres enrolled in the Prairie Pothole region providing habitat important for migratory waterfowl, grassland birds, and dependent species."
Bad for cars
http://www.forbes.com/sites/williampentland/2014/02/01/is-ethanol-eating-your-cars-engine/
"But one factor which some auto shoppers may not be aware of is that the industry is aware of these dangers and they aren’t going to honor warranties on vehicles guzzling the latest 15% ethanol blend unless you’ve got a brand new car or one that is specifically rated as a ‘flex fuel vehicle."
Bad for small engines
http://www.tractorsupply.com/know-h...ol-and-its-effects-on-outdoor-power-equipment
"These fuels, due to their corrosive nature, can seriously damage fuel systems that are not designed to handle them. E15 fuels burn significantly hotter, and as a result, they can cause a small engine to overheat. In addition, these increased-ethanol fuel blends can absorb a great deal of airborne water (which in humid or damp operating conditions makes the engine very difficult to start) and are hard to ignite within a carburetor during cold weather."
Good for? ... Corn growers?
http://www.ewg.org/agmag/2013/02/corn-ethanol-bad-farmers-consumers-and-environment
