The Law of Unintended Consequences

Yet again, one wonders if someone shouldn't have seen this coming:

Congress established the biofuel mandate—known as the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS)—in 2005 and substantially expanded it in the 2007 energy bill.

Unfortunately, recent research suggest that the promised environmental benefits of biofuels are illusory. For example, one study found that corn-based ethanol does not reduce greenhouse gases compared to conventional fuels, once one accounts for all the factors that go into ethanol production. Other studies indicate that other air pollution and water pollution are actually worsened by a switch to ethanol production.

But perhaps more troubling is the impact of biofuels on global food prices, which have jumped by 44 percent over the past year. Millions of people across the world are living on the knife’s edge of extreme poverty; even a small rise in food prices is enough to send them into dire conditions.

You can never do just one thing.