Al Gore's Ethanol Push: Truth Loses Out To Special Interests And Politics As Usual

Al Gore had a major role in getting ethanol added to gasoline, justified as benefitting national security and the environment. Likely, it wouldn't have been accomplished had he not championed for it so hard. Opponents, including me, opposed it for several reasons:

1. Subsidizing corn grown for the production of ethanol would raise the price of all other corn-based food products because less corn would be available for human and livestock consumption. Prices for cereals and meat for example.
2. Subsidizing corn would drive up the price of non-corn agricultural products too because farmers would switch from other agriculture products to corn.
3. The production and transportation of ethanol would still require the consumption of almost as much oil-based energy as it saved. The result: it did little to decrease the demand for oil.
4. Vehicles get worse mileage using gasoline supplemented with ethanol. The result: The use of ethanol would increase the consumption of gasoline.
5. Gallon for gallon, ethanol is much more expensive to produce than straight gasoline.
6. Ramping up corn production depletes groundwater faster than many other crops. Not so environmentally friendly, eh?
7. Corn requires more intensive herbicides and pesticides than many other crops. That's not so environmentally friendly, eh?
8. Corn depletes soil of its nutrients quickly. Not so environmentally friendly, eh?

We who kept harping on these disadvantages were called alarmists, stupid, anti-environmentalists, and worse all these years, especially by Al Gore. Well, guess what? He just announced that all the above are true. He also just admitted that he pushed for corn ethanol subsidies primarily to benefit the large agriculture industry and related special interests(!) in his state.

To quote the Oregonian (12/06/2010), a known liberal newspaper from one of the most liberal regions of the country (Portland), "[Congress] needs to sober up on ethanol and cut or eliminate [Gore's] tax scheme(!) built for a dream that just keeps refusing to play".

This begs one ask, if 'Mr. Environment' misled us on ethanol in favor of special interests, rather than real science (agricultural as well as others) that was well known at the time, what else has he misled us on knowingly or based on flawed/incomplete science?