One of the points I brought up in my post on global warming yesterday was the unintended consequences of acting too hastily on certain technologies in an effort to "do something".  Specifically I brought up how the cost of food is increasing because the price of corn is increasing due to the increased demand for corn to make ethanol.  I wanted to pull this piece of data out into a separate post, because I think that this hasn't been talked about nearly enough.

It is not only stupid, but rather dangerous, to tie our transportation infrastructure to a vital food stuff.  When the supply of oil decreases, and the price increases, people are forced to make a choice.  Do I pay more for the same amount of gasoline, or do I drive less and conserve?  In fact, in the last year our demand for oil actually decreased.  Although it was a less than one percent decrease, it was the first time our consumption had decreased at all in years.  But with oil, that's the only choice you'd have to make... do I drive less or not.

If we tie our transportation infrastructure to something that is also used for food, our choice becomes much more stark when prices increase.  The question will become, should I eat today or not.  That's not a smart idea.