Bush Bio-fuel

President Bush in his state of the union address made it a national goal to reduce our dependence on foreign oil by 75% by the year 2050.

Is this realistic? Lets look at the facts.

1) We currently produce 40 billion gallons ethanol (corn) out of a 146 billion gallon gasoline market, which is approximately 3%.

2) After this year estimates indicate that biodiesel production will be >100 million gallons out of a 55 billion gallon market for diesel fuel.

3) Current estimates based on current technology indicate that it would require 40% of cropland to replace just 10% of gasoline consumption.

We may not be able to replace 75% of our gasoline and diesel consumption with biofuels, at best we may only be able to pick up the slack in conjunction with improved fuel efficiency, hybrid fuel technology, and increased domestic production. It is estimated by the department of energy that we could replace 30% of gasoline consumption by the year 2030 with biofuels.

With technological change over the last 50 years, we produce twice the output per unit of energy than we did 50 years go. Even modest increases in biofuel production will help alleviate the volatility of our balkanized gasoline markets dictated by EPA rules. Biofuels are more than just a PR opportunity for modern agriculture; they are another example of how technological change will once again help markets triumph over 'limits to growth' pessimists.