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America will not adopt constraints on its emissions when a new president is inaugurated ("Get the price right", January 19th). The momentum in Washington is simply not there. Last year's energy legislation was passed by a Democratic Congress, which failed to eke out a bill with any teeth: no electricity standards mandating utilities to use renewable energy; no cut to the level of greenhouse-gas emissions; no carbon tax. All that Congress could muster were corn-ethanol subsidies and a weak fuel-efficiency standard - 35 miles per gallon by 2020 - which falls short of current standards in Europe, Japan and China.
Furthermore, corn will not offer energy independence. If all American corn crops were given over to producing ethanol it would replace only 12% of gasoline demand. Nor will corn save the planet. One gallon of corn ethanol requires four-fifths of a gallon of fossil fuels and 1,700 gallons of water to produce.
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