This October, we are highlighting the horrors of pollution in Illinois. Each Sunday this month, we will highlight a different issue that we’re working to clean up, stop in its tracks and work to ensure that all Illinoisians have a right to a healthful environment, as ensured in our Illinois Constitution. This week our series continues as we dive into ethanol, its influence and impact on Illinois.
In my nightmares, I see corn.
Field after field, as far as the eye can see, forever and ever and ever. The only thing that disrupts the pattern is the occasional grain elevator, the skyscrapers of Central Illinois dotting the skyline every seven miles across the horizon.
When I’m awake, I see it, too. Reality is as haunting as any nightmare. Illinois has sacrificed much to industrial agriculture; 22 million acres of tallgrass prairie – once one of the richest and most effective carbon-sequestering ecosystems on the planet – were destroyed and converted to corn and soybeans. This has resulted in widespread contamination of water and air across Illinois. Not a single river or stream assessed by the Illinois EPA supports safe consumption of fish. Herbicides are drifting onto our trees, schools and gardens. We’re seeing deadly dust storms from aggressive and exploitative farming practices.
That’s not all. Insect populations are barreling toward collapse. The number of birds is declining rapidly. Cancer rates in corn counties are through the roof.
We simply do not need this much land in monocrops.
At Prairie Rivers Network, we’re confronting a hard truth: Nothing has done more to damage Illinois’ environment than the corn monoculture. We’re working tirelessly to expose this reality and chart a course toward a healthier, more sustainable future for our state.
As we confront this system, your support is more crucial than ever. Prairie Rivers Network is working to restore ecosystems, reduce harmful farming practices, and build a healthier future for our state. Please consider making a donation today.
The Renewable Fuel Standard and the Ethanol Scam
The biggest reason for the corn boom is the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), an EPA policy that mandates a certain amount of ethanol in all gasoline. This 2007 RFS policy has led to widespread economic and environmental consequences for corn-producing areas, according to a 2022 study by researchers at leading ag universities.
The study found that greenhouse gas emissions from ethanol over its lifecycle are now estimated to be 24% higher than those from gasoline, contradicting earlier claims about the environmental benefits of ethanol.
This is largely driven by land-use changes. For example, the RFS raised demand for corn, raising corn prices and leading to 6.9 million more acres being planted with corn – an area larger than the state of Vermont. This cropland expansion led to a substantial rise in nitrous oxide emissions and carbon loss from ecosystem degradation, amounting to 397 million tons of CO2 equivalent. In addition, this increased acreage led to more fertilizer runoff and soil erosion, growing the dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico and harming our waters and streams.
With the rise of electric vehicles, ethanol’s future looks bleak without continued government interference. However, the government seems intent on trying to stuff corn into everything it can.
In July, the Biden Administration proudly decided to double down on ethanol in airplanes, saying they hope that government mandates will prop up corn production into the future.
“Mark my words, the next 20 years, farmers are going to be providing 95 percent of all the sustainable airline fuel,” President Biden said in July.
The Illinois Corn Growers Association (ICGA) has also realized that the end of ethanol is approaching – despite throwing corn into everything from fireworks to cleaning supplies to crayons. And they’re asking the government to intervene to stop electric vehicles and prop up the corn economy.
The ICGA has filed lawsuits against the EPA and the Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration over rules requiring that more than two-thirds of vehicles produced in the U.S. by 2032 must be electric. The ICGA argues this mandate would severely reduce corn demand, projecting a potential loss of up to 3 billion bushels by 2049. This legal challenge highlights a striking irony: the ethanol industry, which owes its existence to federal mandates, is now fighting against a government push for electric vehicles. Ethanol is a double whammy for climate efforts: not only does it gulp up water and drive land-use changes that make it worse than gasoline, but it’s now actively impeding the adoption of cleaner electric vehicles.
Risky CCS technology designed to prop up ethanol
As we’ve written quite a bit about lately, the Archer Daniels Midland ethanol production facility near Decatur has leaked – twice.
ADM’s risky experiment is being conducted primarily to support ethanol production. CCS is the government’s new way to prop up ethanol producers with our taxes.
The production of ethanol – beyond the corn being grown – creates its own significant environmental harms. A recent Environmental Integrity Project report found that biofuel plants, including ADM’s Decatur facility, are significant sources of toxic air pollution and greenhouse gasses. For example, the Decatur facility produces more hexane, a neurotoxin, than any other industrial facility in the US.
And there are more projects proposed to bury carbon dioxide from ethanol production deep underground, including at One Earth near Gibson City, where carbon will be injected through and stored under our Mahomet Aquifer.
With carbon sequestration, we’re risking our water in order to extend a lifeline to an industry that is harming our water, air, and climate. Carbon sequestration on ethanol plants amounts to a fake solution propping up another fake solution.
Farmers aren’t benefiting, either
Despite artificially inflated corn prices, farmers aren’t benefiting from this arrangement. For farmers that rent their land in Central Illinois, they are projected to lose $154 per acre in 2024, according to FarmDoc at the University of Illinois. In fact, corn farmers have lost money in five of the past 11 years, according to FarmDoc.
The money is being shoved upward toward Big Ag companies.
The total costs for farmers have skyrocketed, from $382/acre in 2000 to $1,175/acre in 2024. During that same period, fertilizer costs increased from $53/acre to $180/acre. Seed costs have increased from $33/acre to $129/acre. Pesticides have increased from $32/acre to $140/acre. Machinery costs have increased from $60/acre to $160/acre. Land costs, driven largely by investors in land prices, are variable, but have more than doubled since 2000 to around $363/acre.
Farmers also bear the brunt of exposure to cancer-causing chemicals that are used in corn production. A study earlier this year found that living in a corn-producing county can be as risky as smoking cigarettes when it comes to cancer rates.
What we can do about it
Instead of finding ways to prop up this industry, we should be transitioning our agricultural economy away from ethanol dependence.
Illinois stands at a pivotal crossroads with its recent award of a $430 million Climate Pollution Reduction Grant, including $111 million earmarked for “climate smart agriculture.” This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform our approach to farming and environmental stewardship.
We must invest this money wisely. Potential solutions include:
- Diversifying beyond monocrops by supporting farmers in transitioning from water-polluting, soil-depleting monocultures to a rich tapestry of crops that enhance soil health and biodiversity.
- Restoring natural carbon sinks by reintroducing perennial plants and trees across our landscape. These aren’t just plants; they’re nature’s time-tested carbon capture technology, sequestering carbon effectively and safely, with no risk to our drinking water.
- Bringing back sustainable grazing, by reintegrating foraging animals into our agricultural systems, mimicking natural ecosystems and enhancing soil carbon storage.
- Investing in agroforestry, by combining trees and shrubs with crops or livestock, creating productive, carbon-rich landscapes that also provide habitat and improve water quality.
This approach doesn’t just sequester carbon – it rebuilds our soil, protects our water, enhances biodiversity, and creates resilient agricultural systems. Unlike the risky, unproven carbon sequestration technology, these natural solutions have a track record spanning millennia. They offer a path to climate mitigation that simultaneously addresses multiple environmental challenges, providing tangible benefits to farmers and communities alike.
With a gift to Prairie Rivers Network today, you’re investing in proven, natural solutions that regenerate our land and secure our food systems. The path forward is clear – let’s not squander this opportunity on false solutions.
