Marcus Aurelius

Ethanol: Amongst America's Most Misguided Public Policies

Actually, I have noticed most service stations DO NOT price their E10 & E85 accordingly their reduced utility.

Ethanol: Amongst America's Most Misguided Public Policies

To those who claim ethanol based fuels are cheaper than gasoline calculate your mileage when driving the various blends. Do a test of E85 compared to E10 compared to E0. My truck gets about 13 mpg on E85, 15 mpg on E10, and near 18 mpg on E0. So, maybe the $/fill is less on E85 but I am filling more often and I have noticed stations pricing their ethanol cut gas to reflect a reduction in the utility.

I pay for fuel to get me, my family, and my gear from point A to point B, not for other considerations. I do believe ethanol has a place in the overall energy picture but what we have now is welfanol.

Ethanol Is No Field of Dreams

The problem is the land set asides & similar as noted. The agricultural markets are subject to tinkering from government programs, subsidies, land set asides etc. In addition, for sugar there are a lot of barriers to the importation of cheap sugar.

Ethanol Is No Field of Dreams

Ethanol has some promise but the pols keep meddling in it and get in the way. Subsidies for corn ethanol and blocking measures to make sugar cheaper hurt ethanol in the end.

Despite other ways to make ethanol here & now in the US ethanol means taking what should be bourbon, doritos, pork-chops, drumsticks, or ribeyes and burning it.

Even if we go to other sugar sources for our ethanol we still have to divert land from raising food to raising ethanol raw material.