Food versus Fuel

In response to a request to help publicize the Glenn Beck Summer Political Tour, I visited the Glenn Beck website to get a taste of his views and philosophy. I’m not here to critique his political or religious correctness, but Glenn’s suppositions about the value of ethanol production, in a video interview entitled Food vs Fuel, really rung my bell.

Food vs Fuel is an interview clip with Michael Grunwald of Time Magazine. Some of the points made by Glenn and Michael are these:

• Global food prices have risen 83% over the past three years, sparking protests and riots around the world.
• The amount of grain needed to make enough gasoline to fill up an SUV tank could feed a person for one year.
• Government subsidies and mandates have prompted many farmers to grow fuel instead of food.
• Deforestation accounts for about 20% of carbon emissions.

I assume that the deforestation point is talking about the effects of demolishing the world’s rainforests and ecosystems, rather than from the operational aspects, and I realize that Michael Grunwald is strongly against deforestation–but these are eye-opening suppositions. Could it be that our materialistic, got to have it now, I’ve-got-mine-and-I-don’t-care-about-yours actions could have something to do with the state of affairs on this planet? Could be.

Being a household without television, we miss out on much of what goes on in the news, but if I lived in the city I likely would go to the picture show on July 17th. Glenn Beck will take his Summer Political Tour to Dallas, Texas, on that day and Fathom Events will be broadcasting the event live to movie theatres around the country. I’m not the kind who jumps on every bandwagon that passes by, but I sure do enjoy hearing different views discussed–that’s part of what has kept the USA free.