Big corn and ethanol con

The Washington Times ^ | 3-12-08 | Walter E. Williams

[JZelle]

One of the many mandates of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 calls for oil companies to increase the amount of ethanol mixed with gasoline. President Bush said, during his 2006 State of the Union address, "America is addicted to oil, which is often imported from unstable parts of the world." Let's look at some of the "wonders" of ethanol as a replacement for gasoline.

Ethanol contains water that distillation cannot remove. As such, it can cause major damage to automobile engines not specifically designed to burn ethanol. The water content of ethanol also risks pipeline corrosion and thus must be shipped by truck, rail car or barge. These are far more expensive than pipelines.

Ethanol is 20 to 30 percent less efficient than gasoline, making it more expensive per highway mile. It takes 450 pounds of corn to produce the ethanol to fill one SUV tank. That's enough corn to feed one person for a year. Plus, it takes more than one gallon of fossil fuel — oil and natural gas — to produce one gallon of ethanol. After all, corn must be grown, fertilized, harvested and trucked to ethanol producers — all of which are fuel-using activities. And it takes 1,700 gallons of water to produce one gallon of ethanol. On top of all this, if our total annual corn output were put to ethanol production, it would reduce gasoline consumption by 10 or 12 percent.

Ethanol is so costly it wouldn't make it in a free market. That's why Congress has enacted major ethanol subsidies, about $1.05 to $1.38 a gallon, which is no less than a tax on consumers. In fact, there's a double tax — one in ethanol subsidies and another in handouts to corn farmers to the tune of $9.5 billion in 2005 alone.

[JZelle]

After all, who do you think a politician will invite into his congressional or White House office for a heart-to-heart — you or an Archer Daniels Midlands executive?

[from occupied ga]

I’ve been saying this about the ethanol scam for years, and getting roundly criticized by the alcoholics here on fr for saying it.

[chaos_5]

I wonder if the general public will start to turn on ethanol. It’s about time the facts started to come out. But, I’m sure this will be denounced my the pro biofuels crowd as just another big oil lie.

[TCats]

It IS a scam and one that is very evident, albeit kept close to the vest. Some of these proponents are the same ones who won't drill in ANWAR or offshore. The World is truly upside down!

[Conservative Vermont Vet]

The biggest boondoggle, farmer-vote-buying-giveaway, guvmint-supported, useless, scam, ever perpetrated on the gullible, ill-informed and ignorant public.

[Moonman62]

It is a scam and with food costs skyrocketing do you see a single politician saying the scam should be ended?

[PSYCHO-FREEP]

Ethanol also does not burn completely in an engine and reduces mileage. There are also more emissions from engines burning it. This includes 10% gasahol blends. (Now in all regular gas)

This is becoming a real mess and will get much worse.

[Mr. Lucky]

Walter Williams is a great economist, but the “facts” claimed in the article aren’t really.

[chaos_5]

I think its just insane that they want to keep increasing fuel economy standards while insisting we use worse and worse fuel.

[Red Badger]

Ethanol contains water that distillation cannot remove.

I dunno 'bout that!.........

[Cold Heart]

EFB Ethanol Fraud Bump

[Beagle8U]

The price of chicken has doubled but chicken farmers didn't see a dime of that.

Even the corn farmers see little of the price increase because its going to market traders and ethanol producers.

[from occupied ga]

I was wondering when you’d show up and start with the pro ethanol lies.

[Psycho_Bunny]

Let’s burn food product!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[thulldud]

If you’re walking, you’re easier to control. Nothing insane about it.

[Tex Pete]

From first-hand experience, ethanol burns at roughly twice the rate of gasoline, and weighs considerably more per gallon.

In other words, putting ethanol in your car is considerably less economical, both because of the sheer inefficiency of burning ethanol and because of the added weight to your car bringing fuel mileage down even further.

[SpaceBar]

Next time you are harassed by those who downplay the corn ethanol debacle, and blindly think prez knows best, point them to this article. Written two years ago and still leaving bruises.

George Bush has a Rendezvous with Density

[from occupied ga]

95% ethanol 5% water is an azeotropic mixture than can not be further purified by simple distillation, but has to distilled with added benzene to get to 99%

[AbeKrieger]

But wait a minute, if we use only ethanol to produce the energy for manufacture and transport, and just grow more crops in support of this effort, we have created a perpetual motion system and energy will be free and plentiful, and all our farmers will be wealthy beyond the dreams of avarice, and then instead of subsidizing them, we can TAX TAX TAX them!!!! Terror will starve to death from lack of cash, the ice caps will return to their 10,000BC stages, and all will be right again with Gaia.

[woodbutcher]

It would be nice of you to present the facts, rather than a one liner.

CSSJR

If we do not wish to lose our freedom, we must learn to tolerate our
neighbor’s right to freedom even though he might express that freedom
in a manner we consider to be eccentric.