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In Milwaukee, the largest ethanol plant in the nation is more than 100 years old and still going strong. The plants are such a large part of the city that they are used as tourist attractions. You know them as Miller, Pabst, Schlitz and Blatz. That’s right, folks, there is very little difference between a brewery and an ethanol plant.
Here are the lies told about ethanol plants.
n Lie No. 1: People get sick from the ethanol plants. There is not one thing that comes out of an ethanol plant that can make anyone sick.
n Lie No. 2: The fire department will have to have additional training to handle the chemical fire. Ethanol is the first cousin to water. All you have to do is add water and at 50 percent it stops burning. End of training.
n Lie No. 3: Ethanol is not viable economically. Twenty years ago, it was marginal. Today, it has a great profit margin.
n Lie No. 4: The air from the ethanol plant will taint the food products. The chemical they are talking about is not released into the air from a modern ethanol plant.
We have lots of ethanol plants out here in western Iowa, Minnesota and South Dakota, and you never hear silly arguments against them like you do in Sparta.
Karl Krueger is a former area resident.
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