THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume XII, Issue # 150, August 7, 2010
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
THE DUMB POLICIES THAT JUST KEEP COMING:
E15 Ethanol Mandates Would Bring Huge Benefits
for the Few, at the Expense of the Many
By Paul K. Driessen
U.S. ENERGY & ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY: THE ONGOING U.S. GOVERNMENT PUSH TO EXPAND THE ETHANOL
MANDATE FROM THE CURRENT 10% TO A NEW & IMMEDIATE 15% -- WHY THIS IS A BAD IDEA, ESPECIALLY IF ADOPTED &
IMPLEMENTED BEFORE EXTENSIVE TESTS ARE DONE TO ASSESS THE EFFECTS THE HIGHER ALCOHOL BLEND WOULD HAVE
ON CAR, BOAT, SNOWMOBILE, & OUTDOOR POWER EQUIPMENT ENGINES -- EVEN IF SUCH TESTS RETURN ACCEPTABLE
RESULTS, WHY ETHANOL IS STILL A DUMB IDEA, FROM AN ENVIRONMENTAL, ECONOMIC, & ENERGY PERSPECTIVE
FULL STORY:
If 10% ethanol in gasoline is good, 15% (E15) will be even better. At least for some folks.
We’re certainly heading in that direction, thanks to animosity toward oil, natural gas and coal, fear-mongering about
global warming, and superlative lobbying for “alternative,” “affordable,” “eco-friendly” biofuels. Whether the trend
continues, and what unintended consequences will be unleashed, will depend on Corn Belt versus consumer politics
and whether more people recognize the downsides of ethanol.
Federal laws currently require that fuel suppliers blend more and more ethanol into gasoline, until the annual total
rises from 9 billion gallons of EtOH in 2008 to 36 billion in 2022. The national Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) also
mandates that corn-based ethanol tops out at 15 billion gallons a year, and the rest comes from “advanced biofuels”
– fuels produced from switchgrass, forest products and other non-corn feedstocks -- and having 50% lower lifecycle
greenhouse gas emissions than petroleum.
These “advanced biofuels,” thus far, exist only on paper or in laboratories and demonstration projects. But Congress
apparently believes passing a law will turn wishes into horses and mandates into reality.
Create the demand, say ethanol activists, and the supply will follow. In plain-spoken English: Impose the mandates
and provide sufficient subsidies, and ethanol producers will gladly “earn” billions growing crops, building facilities,
and distilling fuel.
Thus, ADM, Cargill, POET bio-energy, and the Growth Energy coalition will benefit from RFS and other mandates,
loan guarantees, tax credits, and direct subsidies. Automobile and other manufacturers will sell new lines of vehicles
and equipment to replace soon-to-be-obsolete models that cannot handle E15 blends. Lawmakers who nourish the
arrangement will continue receiving hefty campaign contributions from Big Farma.
However, voter anger over subsidies and deficits bode ill for the status quo. So POET doubled its Capital Hill
lobbying budget in 2010, and the ethanol industry has launched a full-court press to have the Congress and
Environmental Protection Agency raise the ethanol-in-gasoline limit to 15% ASAP. As their anxiety levels have risen,
some lobbyists are suggesting a compromise at 12% (E12).
Not surprisingly, ethanol activism is resisted by people on the other side of the ledger – those who will pay the tab,
and those who worry about the environmental impacts of ethanol production and use.
Taxpayer and free market advocates point to the billions being transferred from one class of citizens to another, while
legislators and regulators lock up billions of barrels of oil, trillions of cubic feet of natural gas, and vast additional
energy resources in onshore and offshore America. They note that ethanol costs 3.5 times as much as gasoline to
produce, but contains only 65% as much energy per gallon as gasoline.
Motorists, boaters, snowmobilers, and outdoor power equipment users worry about safety and cost. The more
ethanol there is in gasoline, the more often consumers have to fill up their tanks, the less value they get, and the more
they must deal with repairs, replacements, lost earnings and productivity, and malfunctions that are inconvenient or
even dangerous.
Ethanol burns hotter than gasoline. It collects water and corrodes plastic, rubber, and soft metal parts. Older engines
and systems may not be able to handle E15 or even E12, which could also increase emissions and adversely affect
engine, fuel pump, and sensor durability.
Home owners, landscapers, and yard care workers who use 200 million lawn mowers, chainsaws, trimmers, blowers, and
other outdoor power gear want proof that parts won’t deteriorate and equipment won’t stall out, start inadvertently or
catch fire. Drivers want proof that their car or motorcycle won’t conk out on congested highways or in the middle of
nowhere, boat engines won’t die miles from land or in the face of a storm, and snowmobiles won’t sputter to a stop in
some frigid wilderness.
All these people have a simple request: test E12 and E15 blends first. Wait until the Department of Energy and private
sector assess these risks sufficiently, and issue a clean bill of health, before imposing new fuel standards. Safety first.
Working stiff livelihoods second. Bigger profits for Big Farma and Mega Ethanol can wait. Some unexpected parties
recently offered their support for more testing.
Representatives Henry Waxman (Democrat - California), Ed Markey (Democrat - Massachusetts), Joe Barton
(Republican - Texas), and Fred Upton (Republican - Michigan) wrote to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, advising her:
“Allowing the sale of renewable fuel … that damages
equipment, shortens its life, or requires costly repairs
will likely cause a backlash against renewable fuels.
It could also seriously undermine the agency’s
credibility in addressing engine fuel and engine
issues in the future.”
Corn growers will benefit from a higher ethanol RFS. However, government mandates mean higher prices for corn – and
other grains, as corn and switchgrass incentives reduce farmland planted in wheat or rye. Thus, beef, pork, poultry, and
egg producers must pay more for corn-based feed; grocery manufacturers face higher prices for grains, eggs, meat and
corn syrup; and folks who simply like affordable food cringe as their grocery bills go higher.
Whether the issue is food, vehicles or equipment, blue collar, minority, elderly, and middle class families would be
disproportionately affected, Affordable Power Alliance Co-Chairman Harry Jackson, Jr., points out. They have to pay a
larger portion of their smaller incomes for food, and own older cars and power equipment that would be particularly
vulnerable to E15 fuels.
Ethanol mandates also drive up the cost of food aid – so fewer malnourished, destitute people can be fed via USAID
and World Food Organization programs.
Biotechnology will certainly help, by enabling farmers to produce more biofuel crops per acre, using fewer pesticides
and utilizing no-till methods that reduce soil erosion, even under drought conditions. If only Greenpeace and other
radical environmentalist groups would cease battling this technology. However, there are legitimate environmental
concerns.
Oil, gas, coal, and uranium extraction produces large quantities of high-density fuel for vehicles, equipment and power
plants (to recharge batteries) from relatively small tracts of land. We could produce 670 billion gallons of oil from Arctic
land equal to 1/20 of Washington, D.C., if ANWR weren’t off limits.
By contrast, 15 billion gallons of corn-based ethanol requires cropland and wildlife habitat the size of Georgia, and for
21 billion gallons of advanced biofuel we’d need South Carolina planted in switchgrass.
Ethanol has only two-thirds the energy value of gasoline – and it takes 70% more energy to grow and harvest corn and
turn it into EtOH than what it yields as a fuel. There is a “net energy loss,” says Cornell University Agriculture
Professor David Pimental.
Professor Pimental and other analysts also calculate that growing and processing corn into ethanol requires over 8,000
gallons of water per gallon of alcohol fuel. Much of the water comes from already stressed aquifers – and growing the
crops results in significant pesticide, herbicide, and fertilizer runoff.
Ethanol blends do little to reduce smog, and, in fact, result in more pollutants evaporating from gas tanks, says the
National Academy of Sciences. As to preventing climate change, thousands of scientists doubt the human role, climate
“crisis” claims and efficacy of biofuels in addressing the speculative problem.
Meanwhile, Congress remains intent on mandating low-water toilets and washing machines, and steadily expanding
ethanol diktats. And EPA wants to crack down on dust from livestock, combine operations and tractors in farm fields.
“With Congress,” Will Rogers observed, “every time they make a joke, it’s a law, and, every time they make a law, it’s a
joke.” If it had been around in 1934, he would have added EPA. Let’s hope for some change.
LINKS TO RELATED TOPICS:
Political Environmentalism Versus Human Progress & Prosperity:
Policy Issues Relating to Energy, Environment,
& Natural Resources
Political Economy -- Philosophies, Systems, & Public Policies:
Government, the Economy, & Economic Prosperity
The Earth's Natural History, Global Climate Changes,
& the Future of Human Life & Civilization on the Planet:
Science, Ideology, & Public Policy
Paul K. Driessen is Senior Policy Advisor for the Committee For A Constructive Tomorrow and the Congress of Racial
Equality, and is author of Eco-Imperialism: Green Power - Black Death.
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THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
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Conservative Government Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity