Ethanol and robotic warrior follow-ups... and birthday wishes

I wonder if anyone is following these stories that continue to intrigue me... maybe you're all tired of hearing about them. :-)

First, a couple of articles on ethanol as a gasoline replacement. (See my original post on the topic.) My concern here is simply that politics is behind the huge subsidies of ethanol, a fuel whose benefits are not all that clear cut. A waste of money most likely, and potentially worse: complacency in the public and Congress because "we seem to be doing something about the addiction to oil problem."

• From the November 27th issue of The New Yorker, "Deal Sweeteners." An excerpt:

Congress is paying billions in subsidies to get us to use more ethanol, while keeping in place tariffs and quotas that guarantee that we’ll use less. And while most of the time tariffs just mean higher prices and reduced competition, in the case of ethanol the negative effects are considerably greater, leaving us saddled with an inferior and less energy-efficient technology and as dependent as ever on oil-producing countries. Because of the ethanol tariffs, we’re imposing taxes on fuel from countries that are friendly to the U.S., but no tax at all on fuel from countries that are among our most vehement opponents.

• From the January/February issue of Sierra, "Corn-Fed Cars."

And secondly, Steve Featherstone wrote an article for the February issue of Harper's about "The Coming Robot Army." Not available online yet... (But see my original posts one and two from May 10 last year.)

QUOTE FOR THE DAY (for Antonio :-)

Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.

-- Helen Keller in The Open Door

And for Mom...

Happy Birthday!!!