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Wednesday, January 23, 2019

Put corn on your plate, not in your tank

President Trump didn't forget that he promised Iowa's corn growers he be there for them if they helped send him to Washington. He's told the Environmental Protection Agency to start the process of permitting the year-round sale of E15, a gasoline blend that's 15 percent ethanol.

This move is not only a massive handout to special-interest groups, but it also imposes serious costs on the average American family. All the while, it provides virtually zero environmental benefit.

This story begins with the Renewable Fuel Standard, which last decade mandated that more and more biofuels be injected into the fuel supply. The quantities were to increase over time, on the expectation that new technologies would produce an abundance of biofuel from cellulose. But such technological advances in biofuel production didn't materialize. This has meant, under the RFS, an even heavier reliance on corn ethanol. That's cost Americans dearly at the grocery, at the pump, and in everyday life, as anyone who forgets to drain the fuel out of their lawn mower has learned the hard way.

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3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ethanol has ALWAYS been about politics and special interests. It was never about the environment or emissions. The farm lobby is a powerful one in Washington DC. And the poor, land rich farmers expect us to feel sorry for them, and pay them for crops that we don't need to put in our gas tanks for fuel that REDUCES our MPG, and kills the engines that burn it. Talk about a colossal waste of taxpayer money for the benefit of a wealthy few!

Anonymous said...

Finally, I do not agree with the good president on this one. Rather see it reduced 5% instead of increase 5%.
I will always support the good man though.

Trump/Pence 2020!

Anonymous said...

Tens of millions of people, automotive and fuel efficiency professionals included, have been saying the same thing since before corn alcohol became a fuel additive.