Wilson College in Chambersburg, PA is hosting an ethanol forum January 30 to “address concerns on both sides of the ethanol debate.” The college, located in south-central Pennsylvania, is billing the event as an educational forum being co-sponsored by Citizens for a Quality Environment and Penn-Mar Ethanol LLC.
In this corner …. representing the ethanol industry …. Dr. David Morris, vice president of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance in Minneapolis, will discuss the benefits that ethanol can provide as an alternative fuel. I have never heard of him or this organization, so I don’t really know – but because of that I would think there might be others better qualified to talk on the benefits of ethanol.
The opposing view will be presented by Dr. Tadeusz Patzek from the University of California, Berkeley – best known for his ethanol-bashing, oil-industry sponsored, short-on-facts report that got some media traction last summer.

From what I can gather from other stories on the web, the Citizens for a Quality Environment group says ethanol plants are bad for the environment and has been actively opposing Penn-Mar’s plans for developing ethanol plants in the area (Pennsylvania and Maryland). Basically, we’re talking about environmental wackos here. I have no patience for people like that who just like to oppose stuff and offer no alternatives. I really don’t understand why any “environmental” group can oppose efforts to develop renewable fuel sources here in the United States that would lessen our dependence on petroleum. Makes absolutely no sense to me.

Here is a link to the press release from the college with all the details.