That would be true if corn, sugarcane and so forth were produced without the use of fossil fuels. In fact planting, fertilizing and harvesting corn and converting it to ethanol uses almost as much fossil energy as the ethanol ultimately provides.

That is the main reason why producing ethanol from corn is such a terrible idea. Another little problem is that the food that could otherwise be derived from that corn is badly needed now, when food prices are rising very quickly around the world.

Given all these reasons not to produce corn ethanol, one could have predicted that the US would now be going all out to do just that. The wrong-headedness is staggering to behold.

Though the term "Anglo disease" makes me more than a little uneasy, I understand why Jerome wants to use it. My view is that there is nothing wrong with Anglos. Rather, there are some universal flaws in human political systems.

If some other group had been rich and spoiled for as long as Anglos have, I'm sure they would be doing the same kind of idiotic things which are now being perpetrated in the US.