No more Gopher State Ethanol!

[Lizz612]

*does a little dance*
I'm not here to talk about the pros and cons of ethanol, but most people agree that its not a good thing in a 100+ year old brewery, and even worse in an urban neighborhood . The scuttle butt I've heard is that its shutting down due to the high price of corn.
As a resident of the West End neighborhood of St. Paul I would like to take this chance to jump up and down in happiness that this polluter is final shutting down. :D

[TheFarseer]

1. I wish oil was as "high priced" as corn

[sybylla]

2. The problems with the St. Paul refinery have been heard here in WI

In fact, they were used as an arguement against some plants. Our AG fought an ethanol plant here that was stinking up the joint for emission violations. They had to pay fines and fix the problem. Now, no smell.

I appreciate any efforts to reduce our dependance on petroleum, but it shouldn't be at the expense of the environment and everyone's health.

I'm happy the situation has resolved itself for you.

[Mr.Green93]

3. Did you dance for the ones who lost their jobs?

[Lizz612]

4. Of course not

But when there are only 50 so employees, versus my entire neighborhood, I have to side with my neighborhood. Especially when there are serious questions about the toxicity emissions of the plant; when the plant never submitted to the fire chief a map of where explosive materials and fire extinguishers are; when respiratory infections are up (unfortunately there are no real studies only anecdotal evidence); when enrollment at a small local private school is down and may have to close because parents are afraid; when the plant is in violation of several court rulings;when the plant has let unknown liquids run into storm sewers that empty into the Miss. I could go on and on. I am sorry that the workers have lost their jobs, but this plant has been a bad neighbor and has been for at least four years.

Edit: I'm sorry that they are the ones that will suffer now, and not the owners. I support the troops, but not the president; this is a similar situation.

[Deja Q]

5. Trite argument. The problem is much more interesting than the diversion:

Eer, the symptom.

The symptom is people losing jobs.

The problem is what creates the job losses and economic stability.

People are going to lose jobs, now more than ever. Indeed, this one plant closure is tangential compared to the millions of jobs lost due to outsourcing, et al.

Do we want the system to continue as it is, or do we want something that's beneficial for more people - which in turn lowers crime, allows people to be people and to live in happiness, et etcera?

As it stands, the status quo is pure unfettered POISON.

I'll leave it at that for now. I'd love to hear what people have to say on this problem.