Say hello to Arundo donax
I cannot imagine that anyone is willingly planting this in the USA.
From
The Weather Channel:
Is Giant Reed a 'Miracle Plant' or the Next Kudzu?
It's fast-growing and drought-tolerant, producing tons of biomass per acre. It thrives even in poor soil and is a self-propagating perennial, so it requires little investment once established.
To people in the renewable fuels industry, Arundo donax � also known as "giant reed" � is nothing short of a miracle plant. An Oregon power plant is looking at it as a potential substitute for coal, and North Carolina boosters are salivating over the prospect of an ethanol bio-refinery that would bring millions of dollars in investment and dozens of high-paying jobs to hog country.
But to many scientists and environmentalists, Arundo looks less like a miracle than a nightmare waiting to happen. Officials in at least three states have banned the bamboo-like grass as a "noxious weed"; California has spent more than $70 million trying to eradicate it. The federal government has labeled it a "high risk" for invasiveness.
Many are comparing Arundo, which can reach heights of 30 feet in a single season, to another aggressive Asian transplant � the voracious kudzu vine.
I really wonder what the rate of successful imports is -- someone has the great idea to import a plant or critter from an area where there are natural checks and balances into a new area where this beastie is an apex predator. What is it -- 70% failures?
Ethanol costs more energy to manufacture than it yields as fuel. All these people are harvesting is our tax dollars through the subsidies.
Posted by DaveH at December 21, 2012 10:32 PM