Corn, Alcohol, and Hillary

Two thoughts for the evening. First comes from this article, discussing Senator Clinton's doublespeak about Ethanol. It's not surprising that Hillary is singing a new tune in order to appeal to Iowans. I've never considered her a person of strong convictions (moral convictions, that is), and I don't think there's much she wouldn't do to get a vote. I anticipate that until November 2008 there will be a lot of pandering like this. But it does raise an interesting issue, that of Ethanol. As a chemistry major, I know that the combustion of Ethanol produces more carbon dioxide--the primary accused culprit of global warming--than gasoline, per unit of energy output. Thus, an Ethanol economy would have a more detrimental effect. However, I do support Ethanol development. That is because ethanol, like Hydrogen, can be used in fuel cells, and could thus provide a bridge from a Gasoline economy to a more sustainable Hydrogen economy.