Thursday, December 6, 2007

Ethanol Fuel is a Boondoggle

The New York Times published an article discussing ethanol lobbyists efforts to convince the government to force ethanol-gasoline blends from 10% to 20% or even 30%. The lobbyists say there is a sweet spot where a 30% fuel blend can get more mileage than pure gasoline. The reality is that too many corn farmers took government subidies to grow corn for ethanol production - and now there is a glut. Rather than get rid of the subsidies, which would bring prices down throughout the food supply chain, they want to force the extra ethanol into existing cars.

This wouldn't be so bad if we all drove E85 cars like Sen. Obama, but most Americans drive vehicles that run best (and CLEANEST) on pure gasoline. Adding more ethanol would put more wear and tear on the engines, and according to an Austrailian study it would increase emissions. Not to mention the loss in mileage, requiring consumers to buy more fuel to go the same distances, raising the price of gas AGAIN.

I don't know who is worse - the corn/ethanol lobbyists or the oil sheikhs!

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