Communities buck ethanol trend
Plant opponents say environmental concerns outweigh benefits
By Scott Bauer
Associated Press
Akron Beacon Journal
Editor’s note: Ethanol, whose fortunes as a gasoline additive have risen and fallen with the price of oil, is in the middle of a boom. Biofuel plants are sprouting up across the Midwest and corn farmers are rushing to cash in. But this agriculture gold rush carries many questions, not the least of which centers on demand. In Part 5, the last of a series of reports, the Associated Press examines the promise and pitfalls of ethanol in detail.
Barney Lavin ought to be the poster child for ethanol.
A fifth-generation corn farmer, working the land his family homesteaded in 1842, Lavin should see dollar signs over a proposed ethanol plant in this small southeastern Wisconsin town.
Instead, Lavin put down his pitchfork and picked up his cell phone, joining the ranks of other unlikely opponents organizing against ethanol plants, fearing air pollution, increased traffic and groundwater depletion.
“I’m unwilling to give up the obvious quality of life we have here for some added income,” said Lavin, who grows corn on a 300-acre farm on rolling hills that include recently restored wetlands. “We feel very strongly about this area and we don’t want it ruined.”
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