Ethanol Will Become a Fad Without Government Intervention 27 comments
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John McCain and twenty-three other Republican Senators sent a letter last Friday to the EPA asking the agency to reevaluate the current ethanol mandate as food prices continue to soar. The EPA does have the authority to waive the mandate or structure it differently "if the mandate results in adverse unintended effects."
In the letter, McCain stated:
Every time hardworking American families buy groceries, they feel the financial sting of misguided federal policies mandating that taxpayers support ethanol. It isn’t a surprise that food prices are rising when more than 25 percent of the corn grown today is taken out of the food supply and instead used for subsidized ethanol production. This subsidized program - paid for with taxpayer dollars - has contributed to pain at the cash register, at the dining room table, and a devastating food crisis throughout the world. We need to put an end to flawed government policies that distort the markets, raise food prices artificially, and pit producers against consumers. We must call on the EPA to exercise its authority to not exacerbate this already bad situation.
Obama, two days later, on "Meet the Press" stated that, "there's no doubt that biofuels may be contributing to [rising food prices]."
With the growing political concern over ethanol, May corn on the CBOT fell 20 cents today to $5.82 per bushel.
In Monday's trading, VeraSun slipped 9.61% to $6.21 a share while Aventine dropped 7.73% to $5.01 a share.
Without government intervention, ethanol will become a fad real quick.
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This article has 27 comments:
This most recent misadventure has been a farce from the get-go.
You can not expend natural gas to make fertilizer to grow the corn; then further expend energy to process ethanol, and expect ethanol to be a viable energy source.
This only works if we the tax-payer subsidize the process.
Finally, the unexpected result of having corn shortages, should doom the whole stupid idea.
www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin...
Specialty chemicals are needed to put out ethanol fires.
BP has pulled its ads regarding growing our fuel.
BP had plans to sell ethanol at its gas stations...pulled out of that idea too...Construction of anti-corosive tanks to costly.
Corn ethanol will go the way of the dodo...they didn't fly either.
How did you receive enough credibility to get your picture attached to your opinions? Politicians crying 'the sky is falling' is neither news nore prudent energy policy. Ethanol has very little to do with the price of food. Please explain how ethanol made the price of apples go up. Diesel fuel increases made the price of apples go up! Increased health care cost of every company and person that handled that apple made that apple more expensive. Farmers sell corn for 11 cents per pound. that is after the price of everything they use to grow the stuff has gone up in price.
I would like to know who you work for. If you are just a paid basher, we have the right to know. What are your credentials?
Business Week has recently published an article with a few facts that everyone who feels strongly enough to post on the subject should read.
www.businessweek.com/m...
The other argument that we will need much more oil if we stop corn based ethanol is also flawed. If it were stopped right now, the US would not have to plant as much corn to meet the food supply, thereby saving a lot of oil. Also, ethanol does not provide the mileage that gas does, so you need more of it to get from point a to point b.
The two largest problems in this country are urban sprawl with no plan for mass transit, and just-in-time manufacturing, which greatly increases the number of inefficient trucks on the highway. JITM is a double tax for the consumer. Higher manufacturing costs, and more road repairs.
OPEC's mid-east fund made up of OPEC's countries have put US $40 Billion dollars into commodity index funds, which pushes grain prices up.
The cartel is playing us for suckers ...
archive.columbiatribun...
www.sciencedaily.com/r...
www.straightdope.com/c...
This does not even touch the problems with transportation and blending. Ethanol is highly caustic. It can not be sent through conventianal pipelines. Because of this, it must be blended close to the dispensing site. It is also harsh to your fuel system components in the long run, particularly plastic and rubber components.
You could do yourself a favor and educate yourself before you tell some one else that they don't know what they're talking about.
Again, provide links from unbiased experts to substantiate your claim. I used the 10% blend on a 2600 mile trip, and noticed a drop in the mileage from 32 to 27. This was not my imagination.
www.ncga.com/public_po...
The conclusion was that it takes 740,000 Btu of all fossil energy to create one million Btu of ethanol. It takes 1,400,000 Btu to obtain one million Btu’s of gasoline from petroleum. Total fossil energy includes the natural gas and coal equivalent of electricity as well as petroleum. It takes only about 1/8 a unit of actual petroleum fuel to create a unit of ethanol. That is primarily in operating the farm machinery and transportation.
In view of the fact that our primary problem is the import of petroleum this is very favorable. When biodiesel is more readily available, this will get even better.
1) Purchases of ethanol are an investment in additional infrastructure in America. For the most part when we buy gasoline, the money goes outside the country while the product goes up in smoke.
2) Ethanol can make a big difference when combined with other technology. Picture this -- something like a plug-in, Flex-fuel, Prius (that gets 50 mpg), but uses electricity for short trips and 85% ethanol (only 15% gasoline) for longer trips.
Yes you heard that correctly that's *billion* with a "b".