Just for JPod, in an attempt to advance the ethanol debate, I thought I’d introduce the Canadian angle.

Wait, wait, come back. Don’t all stampede over to Andrew Sullivan’s ongoing feature exposing the pro-torture right’s ethnomusicologophobia.

As I understand it, the Canadian canola industry is making a ton of dough exporting canola oil to Europe for biodiesel. The Europeans don’t have enough rapeseed and they can’t import the canola seeds themselves because they caved in to hysteria about genetically modified crops. So here’s my question: We all know the corn-to-ethanol business is a racket that’s never going to pay, but what would be the energy benefits to America of using both US-grown canola and imported Canadian canola? I know Europe’s original rapeseed-to-biodiesel thing started as a typical Brussels boondoggle but, if it’s worth importing Canadian canola for, presumably it must be of some genuine economic benefit.

Any thoughts? Iain? Jonah? Anybody?

Hello?

Okay, maybe I’ll just link to that Andrew Sullivan piece on bears that JPod likes. Has anybody considered shaving male back hair and converting it to ethanol?