Anotation+5

[] ** Where Does the Author work, what else has s/he written about, an what are his/her credentials? **  FarmPolicy.com is a site that reports of different issues that pertain to the farming industry, ranging from crop insurance to bio-fuels to trade policy. It updated daily with different framing related news. This article was written by Keith Good. He has done work recently on the droughts in Russian and their effect of the wheat crop in that area. Also he has written about the changes in farming economics in this country with the increase fuel prices along with the even greater increase in food prices. This has allowed some farmers to increase their profits in the past couple of years. ** What is the main topic of the text? **  The article was written to discuss the bio-fuel part of the new energy bill, H.R. 6. This was passes by President Bush in 2007. The bill covers fuel efficiency for cars and truck, investment in geothermal, and bio-fuel production. The main focus is the mandates to increase the production of bio-fuels and increased car efficiency standards. There are several problems associated with such mandates that are discussed in the article. ** Describe at least three ways that the main topic is fleshed out. **  With mandated increase in bio-fuel production there is a risk of food prices increasing. At the time the article was written, 2007, people were concerned about the prices of corn increasing. The price then was about $4.30 a bushel, now it is around $7.50 a bushel. This may not be a concern for many people in this country, but for the rest of the world that the eats U.S. grain this is a major problem. The increase price for corn will also change what is being grown. People will shift away from their traditional corps to grow corn if it becomes more profitable, this will then drive up the prices of other crops. All these increases may take time to reach the public. The fuel efficiency mandates were also discusses. The bill makes the first new mandates since the 1970’s. Cars are to get an average of 35 MPG as opposed to the current 25 MPG. There are also mandates to increase the production of bio-fuels. The main concern is ethanol. Currently it is produced using corn as a feed crop. The bill supports cellulosic ethanol with funding. Also it mandates that there be 40% cellulosic ethanol by 2022. This will be a major shift in production in only several years. There are yearly guidelines for ethanol production, for 2011 14 billion gallons are to be produced in this country, this is very close to what is currently being produced. ** What three quotes capture the critical importance of the text? ** “The bill calls for U.S. ethanol to be at least 3 percent cellulosic by 2012 and at least 44 percent by 2022.” Mr. Neeley noted that, “‘A lot of cellulosic ethanol at the moment can be refined at around $6 a gallon,’ ** Explain how the argument and evidence in the text support you research focus. **  This was a major focus for the Bush administration, to get Ethanol stated on a large scale. This project has cense had time to mature to some extent and the full effects can be seen. This looks at the beginnings of the project and the requirements for the funding. There was a great initiative by the administration to have some renewable energy in the energy future weather it was the correct choice or not. They were looking for the most politically friendly option, the one to see the most benefits quickly. Even at the time there was concerns about the effect on food prices.
 * Full Citation: **FarmPolicy.com, “President Bush Signs H.R. 6, The Energy Bill” Keith Good, 2007