In 2010 39.4% of domestic corn production went to ethanol production. Without subsidies, your tax dollars, that would be zero. Now, the EPA has approved up to 15% ethanol in gasoline for newer model cars and trucks. This combined with the mandates that require increasing percentages of ethanol each year will insure more and more corn goes to ethanol. Not satisfied, Congress passed a $5 billion tax credit for ethanol blenders.
This is just insane. The US farmers account for 39% of global corn production. We export almost half of that production. The ethanol farce is driving up corn prices at home and abroad. We are willing to let poor people in starving countries go hungry to satisfy the ethanol and farm lobbies. We are willing to have you pay twice for this insanity, in tax dollars and in food prices. Forty percent of our corn goes to food for animals.
If our entire corn crop went to ethanol it would account for 4% of our US oil demand. It is a negative energy product. After accounting for all the energy to plant the corn, the fertilizer, the fuel to harvest and truck the corn to the ethanol producer, the energy to produce the ethanol, and the added energy to truck the ethanol to the fuel source(it can’t be put in pipelines), you have lost more than the net energy value of the ethanol. And, it get less mileage, so you are paying more for the mixed product since you consume more than pure gasoline for the same miles.
Even Al Gore admits it’s a bad idea. He says he supported it for political reasons. Wow, there’s a flash, why would anyone ever support ethanol?
What will it take stop this? As more and more negative things are published about ethanol, the government steps up requirements to use more and adds more subsidies to keep it going.
You want a government that does this to run your health-care?
