10/10/06 More E. Coli & Ethanol Efficiency

More E. Coli & ethanol efficiency. I'm Greg Martin with today's Northwest Report. First the spinach crop, now lettuce from California is being suspected for e.coli contamination. The lettuce does not appear to have caused any illnesses. The recall was ordered Sunday after learning that irrigation water may have been contaminated with E. coli. So far, company investigators have not found E. coli bacteria in the lettuce itself. The recall comes amid other federal warnings that some brands of spinach, bottled carrot juice and recent shipments of beef could cause grave health risks  including paralysis, respiratory failure and death. It covers green leaf lettuce under the Foxy brand that was purchased in grocery stores Oct. 3-6 in Arizona, California, Nevada, Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana. It was also sold to distributors in those states who may have sold it to restaurants or institutions. USDA Chief Economist Keith Collins had the opportunity to talk ethanol with some of the nation`s farmers last week (week of October 2nd). Collins explained to the visiting producers that despite the claims of ethanol opponents that the renewable fuel isn`t energy efficient - USDA studies show that`s simply not the case. In fact - according to Collins - the energy efficiency of ethanol has improved in the last five years. COLLINS: We concluded that ethanol had about 25% more energy in it, the BTU content in ethanol was 25% greater than all the BTU's it took to produce it. Then last year we updated that study and we got, I believe it was about 65% more energy in ethanol than it takes to produce it so it's substantially above break-even. Now with today's Food Forethought, here's Susan Allen. Just look what we have done in the name of the spotted owl. Après the spotted owl fiasco nobody and I mean nobody wants to stumble upon a endangered species on their private property, we have seen what happens. Spotted Owl paranoia has set North Carolina chain saws a buzzing as wary landowners have been clear cutting hundreds of acres simply because some cute little red-cockaded woodpecker with declining numbers decided to pick their trees to peck. The Federal Fish and Wildlife had the grand idea of mapping this woodpecker's habitat, and this mapping will designate critical woodpecker nesting clusters that happen to include subdivisions and land earmarked for new construction. So in what has become a race between landowners and mapmakers, landowners are rushing to clear cut all the trees of their property for fear Mr. Woody would make their land unbuildable. It is a sad irony and a harsh lesson that harkens back to the spotted owl saga that woodlands are being destroyed basically because environmental intolerance has created such a climate of fear. Thanks Susan. That's today's Northwest Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.