Some good news, finally

Has it really been 9 days since our last update? Where does the time go? Oh yeah, to work and grad school. Right.

Anyway, we do have some good news to report for once: a taxpayer-owned garbage-to-ethanol plant is in the works for rural Schneider, Indiana. This is good news for Indiana, whose ethanol industry has hit some major snags thanks to the economic downturn.

Land negotiations between Indiana Ethanol Power LLC and Lake County waste management officials actually began last year, but Schneider locals have recently been concerned as to the politics behind the plant - former state Democratic Party chairman Michael Pannos did legal work to help secure the land it was built on - but local waste management swears up and down that he doesn’t have a controlling stake in the plant.

In fact, Lake County Solid Waste Management District Director Jeffrey Langbehn took time to “reassure the public that…the county waste district will own the land and buildings as protection against its being abused by anyone for private gain at public expense.” And we here at Corn Car can certainly trust a man with such an ostentatious job title. He must print his business cards on bookmarks. Sheesh.

Anyway, we agree with Green Car Congress’ followers about this being a fabulous local/regional energy solution. It may seem like a trivial story to follow, but if larger, dirtier cities like Chicago or Baltimore tried this, it could really catch on. Hell, there’s probably enough junk at the bottom of the Chesapeake Bay right now to keep Charm City’s lights on for decades.