Starving the People To Feed the Cars

Recently I read this interesting article in Washington Post about the upcoming ethanol distilleries and biodiesel refineries to convert the edible oil to fuel. The problems which this civilization on-the-whole can face because of this technological innovation is really big and scary. Read the article and see yourself.


Starving the People To Feed the Cars

By Lester R. Brown

Sunday, September 10, 2006; Page B03

High oil prices are much more than just a drain on drivers' pocketbooks or a sign of tough economic times ahead; they could also prove to be a leading indicator of the unraveling of our global civilization.

That may sound unlikely, or melodramatic. But consider this: Now, almost everything we eat can be converted into automotive fuel. And once the price of oil surpassed $60 a barrel last year, the business of transforming wheat, corn, soybeans and sugarcane into fuel for cars instead of food for people became hugely profitable. As crops that have long sustained us are diverted to provide fuel, we may encounter the same fate that brought down great civilizations of the past.

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