Ethanol is big business for Iowa's big corn farmers. So when Texas Senator Ted Cruz stood by his proposal to phase out the federal programthat supports the fuel brewed from corn kernels, it was big news. Even in the midst of a battle for votes prior to the Iowa caucuses on February 1, Cruz has not backed down--unlike some of his Republican peers whose views have shifted over time.
As part of work on a forthcoming documentary on ethanol produced with the award-winning team at Detroit Public Television, I traveled to Iowa to cover this story along with many others from the Corn Belt. The result will air on the PBS NewsHour on January 28. It's a small taste of "The Ethanol Effect."
@dbiello Biello is the award-winning senior reporter for environment and energy at Scientific American. He has also written on subjects ranging from astronomy to zoology for both the Web site and magazine. He has been reporting on the environment and energy since 1999--long enough to be cynical but not long enough to be depressed. He is a contributor to the Instant Egghead video series, 60-Second Science podcasts, and host of "Beyond the Light Switch" as well as a forthcoming documentary on ethanol for PBS. He is the author of a children's book on bullet trains and is currently working on a book for grown-ups about whether the Earth has entered a new geologic epoch thanks to people's impacts and what should be done about this Anthropocene.
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