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Ethanol loses its few friends: Even Dr. Ben Carson has backed away from subsidies and mandates
CFACT ^ | November 17, 2015 | Marita Noon

Posted on 11/21/2015 1:54:16 PM PST by george76

in a major policy reversal, Carson .. no longer supports subsidies for any industry, including U.S. ethanol producers

...

Plainly irritated, the ethanol industry shot back immediately, saying it receives no government subsidies. But it neglected to mention a very important fact. Instead of subsidies, ethanol producers get something better: a mandate that orders refiners to blend ethanol into motor fuels which forces consumers to buy their product. A federally guaranteed market beats a subsidy every time.

The ethanol industry also benefits indirectly from agriculture programs that support farmers who grow corn for ethanol

...

In attempt to push more ethanol into the motor fuel market, the Environmental Protection Agency readily admits it plans to drive growth in renewable fuels by providing appropriate incentives ...

the ethanol mandate is a do-gooder program that has gone horribly wrong .

...

The ethanol mandate has been blamed for rising food prices-particularly for beef and poultry-because it has increased the cost of animal feed. Ethanol - blended fuel provides fewer miles per gallon because ethanol contains only two-thirds as much energy as gasoline, forcing motorists to fill up more often.

The mandate puts at risk millions of vehicles owned and operated by private citizens and fleets. Ethanol is corrosive. In tests, it has been proven to eat engine components, including seals and gaskets, causing expensive repairs.

...

marine engine makers also caution boat owners to avoid E15. During winter storage, they suggest pouring a fuel stabilizer into built-in gas tanks to avoid problems. A survey of boat owners has shown ethanol-related repairs cost an average of about $1,000.

...

By November 30, the administration must finalize the amount of biofuels that must be blended into motor fuels in the next couple of years. A pitched battle is developing on Capitol Hill.

(Excerpt) Read more at cfact.org ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Crime/Corruption; Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; US: District of Columbia; US: Iowa; US: Kansas
KEYWORDS: agitprop; energy; epa; ethanol; gasoline; mandates; maritanoon; methane; ntsa; opec; petrochemical; petroleum; subsidies
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To: BobL

He’s lying


21 posted on 11/21/2015 2:47:30 PM PST by cripplecreek (Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.)
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To: cripplecreek

Tag line.


22 posted on 11/21/2015 2:52:27 PM PST by BobL (Who cares? He's going to build a wall and stop this invasion.)
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To: george76

Fuel ethanol didn’t start out as a do-gooder program. Because of peak-oil theory and the Arab oil embargoes of the ‘70s, it was thought to be a national security matter.

The oxygenate and ‘green’ promotion didn’t come until the ‘90s, IIRC.


23 posted on 11/21/2015 2:54:46 PM PST by jjotto ("Ya could look it up!")
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To: alloysteel

Not an “A.” The old cars run horribly on it. Even 10%. I know.

Ford did it only to gain political points from the farmers and tractors.


24 posted on 11/21/2015 3:00:25 PM PST by dhs12345
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To: Georgia Girl 2

That is really interesting. If you have a link to a good article I’d love to get it.


25 posted on 11/21/2015 3:03:14 PM PST by achilles2000 ("I'll agree to save the whales as long as we can deport the liberals")
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To: achilles2000

I have just known this little factoid forever. I am sure if you google it you can find articles.


26 posted on 11/21/2015 3:05:54 PM PST by Georgia Girl 2 (The only purpose of a pistol is to fight your way back to the rifle you should never have dropped)
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To: McGruff
Exactly. Especially when compared to gasoline. It is a huge boondoggle to the benefit of the farmers and it hurts the average consumer.
27 posted on 11/21/2015 3:14:04 PM PST by dhs12345
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To: Georgia Girl 2

Really?

How did they get around the vapor lock issue? Because it is major pain the rear with the A and you can run just about any fuel in an A.

I really wonder how will it would have worked. I wonder if anyone has actually tried running pure ethanol in their T.


28 posted on 11/21/2015 3:19:21 PM PST by dhs12345
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To: dhs12345

The Ford Model A was a complete departure from some of Henry Ford’s earlier philosophy that drove the design of the Model T.

Still a simple rugged vehicle, but modernized to take advantage of the much greater availability of modestly good-quality gasoline fuel (higher compression ratio, more familiar clutch-and-sliding-gear transmission, a REAL electrical system, and not a magneto, and more overall passenger comfort built into the vehicle), the last Model A was built in 1931. It was a tribute to the design that approximately half of the A’s ever built were still daily drivers as late as 1950, and many of the others had been converted into farm tractors, sawmill power units, material handling end loaders, and the engines and drivelines had been cannibalized to be used in running small manufacturing facilities and blacksmith shops. Millions of young men got their mechanical know-how sharpened while keeping these old A’s running, “shade tree mechanics” who could overhaul the vehicle in their back yards. “Rat rods” based on the old four-cylinder engine design were still being trotted out as late as the 1960’s.

“The Kid in the Hopped-Up Model A”


29 posted on 11/21/2015 3:24:03 PM PST by alloysteel (Do not argue with trolls. That means they win.)
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To: achilles2000

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2007/10/biofuels/did-you-know-learn

...From the original design, the Model T ran on ethanol as well as petroleum. Ford believed ethanol would become the most commonly used fuel source...


30 posted on 11/21/2015 3:27:43 PM PST by jjotto ("Ya could look it up!")
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To: alloysteel


31 posted on 11/21/2015 3:31:06 PM PST by JoeProBono (SOME IMAGES MAY BE DISTURBING ’VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED;-{)
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To: alloysteel

I have an original A. And it doesn’t like ethanol at all. The fuel system is gravity feed which is prone to vapor lock. Especially when the engine warms up.

I have spent years trying to figure out how to make it work with ethanol without any luck. I HATE ethanol.


32 posted on 11/21/2015 3:35:18 PM PST by dhs12345
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To: jjotto

He must have figured out how to work around the vapor lock issue. Because the next generation, the A doesn’t run on it at all.


33 posted on 11/21/2015 3:36:35 PM PST by dhs12345
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To: dhs12345

You will have to ask Henry Ford that one. I am not an automotive engineer. :-)


34 posted on 11/21/2015 3:43:38 PM PST by Georgia Girl 2 (The only purpose of a pistol is to fight your way back to the rifle you should never have dropped)
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To: Georgia Girl 2

Ya. Lol.


35 posted on 11/21/2015 3:45:28 PM PST by dhs12345
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To: dhs12345

Ford had built ethanol engines before 1900. Other light fuels were rare and expensive then.

It’s possible that John D. Rockefeller’s oil refined to gasoline was just too attractive, and no doubt the ‘A’ was designed for its use.

JDR’s contribution to autos is under-appreciated.


36 posted on 11/21/2015 3:48:44 PM PST by jjotto ("Ya could look it up!")
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To: dhs12345

“Henry Ford’s first Model-T was built to run on hemp gasoline and the CAR ITSELF WAS CONSTRUCTED FROM HEMP! On his large estate, Ford was photographed among his hemp fields. The car, ‘grown from the soil,’ had hemp plastic panels whose impact strength was 10 times stronger than steel; Popular Mechanics, 1941. “


37 posted on 11/21/2015 3:48:56 PM PST by Georgia Girl 2 (The only purpose of a pistol is to fight your way back to the rifle you should never have dropped)
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To: Georgia Girl 2

I think the filler in the seats in my A is hemp. However it does not run well on ethanol.


38 posted on 11/21/2015 3:56:48 PM PST by dhs12345
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To: george76

Thankfully I can fill my boat up with ethanol free gas and get extra for storage and my generators.


39 posted on 11/21/2015 4:03:51 PM PST by doorgunner69
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To: dhs12345

They must have re-engineered for gas or something.


40 posted on 11/21/2015 4:06:21 PM PST by Georgia Girl 2 (The only purpose of a pistol is to fight your way back to the rifle you should never have dropped)
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