Posted on 04/22/2008 4:55:48 PM PDT by Free ThinkerNY
Will Media Remember Gore's 1994 Tie-breaking Vote Mandating Ethanol?
By Noel Sheppard | April 22, 2008
As the international disaster of ethanol begins taking its toll across the planet -- and, maybe more important, as press outlet after press outlet finally begins recognizing it -- will media remember that Vice President Al Gore cast the tie-breaking vote in the Senate requiring this oxygenate be added to gasoline?
After all, regardless of recent reports blaming ethanol for world hunger problems, rising food costs, and increased greenhouse gases, it seems highly unlikely green media will want to tie any of these problems to Nobel Laureate Gore.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsbusters.org ...
great post!
Brava! The MSM will remain myopic on it, but what did you expect?
I keep scrupulous records of my vehicle milafe. Yesterday I filled up and it showed I got 15.34088 MPG—with the summer blend of fuel.
In January and February, I got 11.8790 mpg. Same gas company.
The oxygenated fuel gives horrible mileage. Thus, we are all burning more volume, and besides paying more, there has to be more pollution.
Gore is a fool. God forbid that he do similar record keeping himself.
Gore’s policy is tantamount to genocide. He should be brought before the world court and forced to defend himself.
Think of all the poor third world children he’s killed by driving up the price of food with this ethanol mandate.
"The price of corn flakes isn't going to go up by one penny," he said. "Don't think you're helping consumers by voting for the amendment by my friend from Louisiana."
No problem for consumers. Let them eat PANCAKES!
They should give him the Nobel Prize for idiocy and hypocrisy.
Bullhockey. The U.S. and Brazil produce the bulk of the world's ethanol -- I ain't a-gonna go looking for the figures right now, but probably in the 70-80% range of the world's total. Both Brazil and the U.S. are corn exporters. Corn exports from both countries are currently at record levels, with the buildout of ethanol being supplied entirely by increased domestic production with room to spare.
This, of course, will not stop critics from attributing higher commodities prices on global markets to U.S. and Brazilian ethanol.
Well, that may be a slight overstatement, but only a slight one. There's about five cents worth of corn in a box of corn flakes. The rest is packaging, processing, transportation, and marketing. The rise in corn prices might add a penny or two to a box, but not much more.
What then has caused the price of corn flakes to go up? (Assuming it has -- I'm a Cheerios guy myself.) First and foremost, higher energy costs, which impact the entire food processing/marketing chain. It is quite possible that, by somewhat mitigating gasoline price increases, ethanol is saving money for the consumers in both food costs and at the pump.
Since they were banning MTBE (Methyl Tertiary Buytl Ether) at the same time Methanol was being mandated it was the liberals choice.
To obtain 87 Octane (R+M/2) with MTBE the gasoline could be lower quality and fortified to make the 87. Now the gasoline is higher quality fuel just to make the 87 with the Methanol additive. Another reason that gasoline is much more expensive.
Similar outcome with Tetra Ethyl Lead. Gasoline of the 60’s and early 70’s with lead was decidedly lower quality and fortified with TEL to make the octane rating. Once they mandated the removal TEL, “unleaded” was considerably more expensive than the “regular” of the day.
And here we are at 3.55 a gallon which is...adjusted for inflation, equivelent to the 1.43 that I paid for “regular” in 1981.
Dear sphinx: HORSEPUCKEY! Farmers (U.S. AND Brazilian) are getting RECORD prices for corn. So guess who’s not planting wheat, soy, sorghum or any other grains, for that matter?
Better go “a-lookin’ up” yore figgers, after all.
By the way, what’s YOUR explanation for skyrocketing food prices?
He was right. My flakes went up by a quarter not a penny.
“CHANGE” - Obama.
We should him offer him over to Haiti.
bump
Skyrocketing? Food is still relatively cheap. Agricultural commodities have indeed risen in price, but less than non-agricultural commodities and dramatically less than oil. They have also been declining for many decades as a percentage of disposable income. As a percent of income, the short term spike we are now experiencing is trivial in historical terms.
Several things are in play. Obviously all demand factors play a role in food price increases, but most of the ag economists seem to think that ethanol is rather far down the list. The biggest factor is probably increasing demand from China, India, and other rising economies. The first thing people do when they start to climb the ladder is to eat better. A lot of folks are discovering that they like meat.
On top of that, the rise in energy prices is itself a major factor. Agriculture and food processing are energy intensive. There have also been poor harvests the last two years in a number of countries; that's always a risk in agriculture, and the resulting price spikes are nothing new. They adjust over time.
That said, ethanol is undoubtedly a contributing factor but probably a minor one. There are several estimates floating around. A fairly mainstream estimate is that the diversion of feedstocks for biofuels may account for 15% of the increase in food prices.
There is, however, an important mitigating factor. Ethanol is currently providing 100% of the increase in U.S. fuel consumption and is undoubtedly buffering gasoline price increases. No one is thinking in those terms given sticker shock at the gas pump, but it would be even worse without ethanol. In assessing ethanol, it is quite possible that your savings at the gas pump substantially outweigh the higher price at the grocery story. This should not be surprising; BTUs and calories are fungible.
Interesting to see how many die before we hear the “Houston, we have a problem” message from the Lamestream media. Of course Sweden will give Branch Goridian another Nobel for this.
Will any FReepers remember W’s “America is addicted to oil” speech in 2006?
Bad enough that we’d be cold and in the dark due to enviro-nuts. Now we have to starve too.
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