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Forest to Bio FuelForests For Bio Fuel It sounds like the production of bio fuels from forest products is coming to the Ozarks. How this will impact our forests is uncertain, but I believe there is cause for concern. The basic premise is that the bio fuel industry will use forest thinnings and waste products, such as slab-wood, for ethanol production. According to the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC)* and other promoters, this could potentially be a good thing for our forests and for local economies. As a forestland owner, I recognize the benefit to having a market for the low quality trees that I would like to have removed. I’ve spoken with people who are promoting this new industry and my first concern is the familiar rhetoric that they are using. When I ask them what will keep “investors” from liquidating large tracks of forest, I hear the same logic that was used to promote the high capacity chip mills. They told us then and are telling us now that our forests are often in such poor condition that it is better to cut them down and start over again. The problem we saw with the chip mills was that land was purchased, clear cut, and put up for sale with no thought of Best Management Practices (BMPs) or future forest management. When talking to MDC, I was told that they are working on a list of BMPs that they intend to “recommend” when working with local communities in the Ozark region. If this industry is indeed coming to the Ozarks, it is very important that regulations be in place first. We learned from dealing with the high capacity chip mills that it does not work to retrofit regulations after the industries are here. Again, there is no way for me to know how much of an impact this industry will have on our forest, but we do know about our nation’s appetite for fuel consumption. If nothing else, that is enough reason for concern. http://mdc4.mdc.mo.gov/applications/MDCLibrary/MDCLibrary2.aspx?NodeID=2... .
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What about corn-based ethanol?
What about proposals for making corn-based ethanol on a large-scale basis, as Senator McCaskill mentioned occasionally during her 2006 campaign? Besides farmers' concerns about massive corn agribusiness affecting crop prices (more corn grown = lower corn prices), could a ballooning market for ethanol also increase the demand for clearing forests to create more arable land?
corn prices
Actually, the corn-ethanol scam is causing corn and other grain prices to go up as demand increases. The net effect has been increasing food commodity prices, as corn, soy, and other grains are not only staple foods in and of themselves, but are the primary feed for livestock. We're driving up the price of our food so that we use it drive our damn cars. About a year ago there were already protests in Mexico as the price of tortillas skyrocketed.
Corn and forest for bio fuel
I don't think much of the forest land in the Ozarks could be used for corn producion, but back in the 70's a lot of forests were cleared for pasture land as cattle prices went up.
If the use of corn moves us into an ethenol economy, I can see an increase in demand for anything that can produce ethenol, such as eighty year old Oak Hickory forests.