Tag: ethanol boondoggle

EV Mandates Bad . . . Ethanol Mandates Good!

Guest Post by Eric Peters

Donald Trump has been denouncing the mandates forcing electric vehicles onto the “market” – in air fingers quotes to make a point of the absurdity of using that word to describe forcing people to buy things. In part by forcing things people want to buy off the market.

He’s right to denounce the EV mandates – this forcing off the market of vehicles people can afford and are willing to buy using their own money so as to force them into having no other choice but to buy an electric vehicle they don’t want and probably can’t afford anyhow (the average transaction price of an EV – one that isn’t a subcompact such as the Chevy Bolt – is nearly $50,000) using other people’s money to help pay for it.

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The Stupidity of Ethanol as Green Energy

Via Mercola

stupidity of ethanol as green energy

Story at-a-glance

  • Carbon neutrality refers to a product that has net zero carbon emissions. The manufacture and use of corn-based ethanol has expanded based on the assumption that it’s carbon neutral and therefore far better for the environment than gasoline. However, several studies have shown that such assumptions are categorically false
  • A 2016 study found corn grown for ethanol only offset 37% of carbon dioxide emissions produced by burning biofuels, resulting in net-positive carbon dioxide emissions that are greater than gasoline
  • One of the primary reasons why growing corn for ethanol has a net-positive CO2 impact is because farmers are plowing up native grasslands to make more room for corn; 60 tons of carbon dioxide are released into the environment per acre of grassland plowed
  • Ignoring water consumption further underestimates CO2 emissions from land-use change by 28%. When corn plants’ water needs are considered, corn ethanol is worse for the environment than gasoline
  • A five-year study published in 2022 concluded the CO2 emissions from corn-based ethanol are at least 24% greater than that of gasoline. On top of that, it has led to increased fertilizer use, resulting in greater water pollution and a growing dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico

Carbon neutrality is the holy grail of the biofuel industry. It refers to a product that has net zero carbon emissions. In the case of ethanol, the corn or soybeans grown to produce it would have to remove as much carbon dioxide from the environment as is given off when the ethanol is burned.

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Cornholio!

Guest Post by Eric Peters

Most of America hasn’t been working for going on a month now because of the hysteria over Corona –  which has resulted in the “locking down” of most of the country. It might be months before Americans are allowed by the government to work again.

The very last thing the government ought to be doing is forcing them to pay more than the market rate for anything.

Especially an essential thing – like fuel.

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The Corn Lobby vs. Orange Man

Guest Post by Eric Peters

The corn lobby – which benignly styles itself The National Corn Growers Association – is upset with the Orange Man for – as CNN puts it – “reducing demand” for its crops.

What he’s actually done is reduce the mandate for them by granting waivers to refineries which would otherwise by forced by a federal law called the Renewable Fuels Standard or RFS to douse the gas they make with ethanol – which is made (in the United States) using mostly  . . . corn.

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ETHANOL BOONDOGGLE

Guest Post by Bob Livingston

Like every master salesman, Donald Trump loves to tell his audience exactly what it wants to hear.

Last week, at a campaign rally in Iowa, Trump gave Iowa farmers just the political fodder they wanted. He even acknowledged that that was what he was doing when he made his statement. According to The Wall Street Journal:

“And my Administration is protecting ethanol, all right? That’s what you want to hear,” Mr. Trump said at a rally in Iowa on Tuesday, and give him points for political candor. Mr. Trump then announced that his Administration will now allow fuel with 15% ethanol to be sold all year long. The Clean Air Act sets standards for fuel volatility, and E15 hasn’t been allowed in the summer because it can cause smog. Most blends contain 10% of ethanol.

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Less Gas in Your “Gas”

Guest Post by Eric Peters

“Gas” is about to become another 5 percent less so.

President Trump just issued a fuhrerbefehl – a Fuhrer Order, as it was styled back in you-know-where, by you-know-who – directing the EPA to change its befehls (orders) to infuse the nation’s “gas” supply with 15 percent ethanol (E15), year ’round.

Up to now, the limit of ethanol-adulteration – in most places, most of the time – has been 10 percent (E10).

But what’s the problem with ethanol?

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A Talent for Deception

Guest Post by Eric Peters

When establishment Republicans like Jim Talent pat the president on the back, he might want to check for a knife.

Talent recently praised Trump for not ending or even dialing back the Renewable Fuels Standard – a federal mandate which force-feeds billions of gallons of ethanol and biodiesel to American drivers, like it or not. The fact that there is no natural market for ethanol – which may be “renewable” but isn’t energy efficient – doesn’t seem to bother Talent, who is an ex-senator from Missouri and lawyer/lobbyist/PR flack by trade.

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