Wind Power and Ethanol Production in the Great Plains

Current US agricultural policy subsidizes the production of ethanol (largely from corn). This has resulted in a large expansion of corn production in regions of the country where irrigation is necessary to raise corn. In this class, we pose a series of simple questions: Given the magnitude of the current ethanol subsidy, would it be possible to produce more energy with an equivalent subsidy? Should we allow Brazilian (or even Cuban) sugar cane to be used without the punitive tariffs? Would wind power be a poor substitute for ethanol because it is inherently tied to the electricity sector? The course will be co-taught by a physicist (Rosner) and an economist (Black) and will be taught in a seminar format.