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It's time to end the excessive subsidies for corn ethanol
Washington Post ^ | July 24, 2010 | Staff Editorial

Posted on 07/24/2010 4:59:23 PM PDT by neverdem

WHEN WASHINGTON starts handing out cash, it can be hard to stop. See, for example, the decades of subsidies the government has showered on the corn ethanol industry. The fuel was supposed to free America from its dependence on foreign oil and produce fewer carbon emissions in the process. It's doing some of the former and little of the latter. But corn ethanol certainly doesn't need the level of taxpayer support it's been getting. Lawmakers are considering whether to renew these expensive subsidies; they shouldn't.

The feds give companies that combine corn ethanol with gasoline a 45-cent tax subsidy for every gallon of corn ethanol added to gasoline. That's on top of a tariff on imported sugar cane ethanol from Brazil and federal mandates requiring that steadily increasing amounts of these biofuels be produced. The Congressional Budget Office this month estimated that, all told, the costs to taxpayers of replacing a gallon of gasoline with one of corn ethanol add up to $1.78. The tax incentives alone cost the Treasury $6 billion in 2009.

How about the environmental benefits? The CBO calculates that it costs a huge $750 to reduce annual carbon dioxide emissions by one ton using corn ethanol. And that figure relies on assumptions extremely favorable to the industry.

Not only are these subsidies expensive, but they are redundant...

(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; Editorial; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: cornethanol; energy; subsidies
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To: neverdem

Nearly all subsidies are a mistake.


41 posted on 07/24/2010 9:50:17 PM PDT by GeorgeSaden
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To: ridesthemiles

Results in our Mercury Marquis with the 4.6 liter engine indicate that we burn AT LEAST as much gasoline using the ethanol blend as we did burning pure gasoline because of reduced mileage. So the ethanol portion of the fuel is totally wasted in that car. Sometimes the drop in mileage using “ten percent” ethanol is well over ten percent, sometimes I think it approaches twenty percent.


42 posted on 07/25/2010 5:45:10 AM PDT by RipSawyer (Trying to reason with a leftist is like trying to catch sunshine in a fish net at midnight.)
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To: Mr. Lucky

It was a local story (Houston) about the Corn problem.
Some Ranchers complaining. Probably a BP sponsored story.


43 posted on 07/25/2010 7:02:41 AM PDT by Marty62 (marty60)
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To: RipSawyer

Your theoretical loss of MPG should be just about 15%, using 10% ethonol vs. pure gasoline.


44 posted on 07/25/2010 7:16:18 AM PDT by patton (Obama has replaced "Res Publica" with "Quod licet Jovi non licet bovi.")
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To: hkp123

We grow millions of bushels more corn than we and our farm animals can possibly eat.

Corn is a complex feedstock that we are processing into hundreds of different products. Not only all the corn based foods and animal feeds that America and the world can purchase and consume but pharmaceuticals, industrial chemicals, plastics and cosmetics, and yes, fuels too. As fast as we can develop new uses for corn, we flood the markets. We can grow millions of bushels more corn than we do today.

Here are the products now being processed from corn in the 1.5 billion dollar http://www.iowabiocenter.com/ just up the road a piece from me.

High Fructose Corn Syrup
Corn Syrup
Dextrose
Crude Corn Oil
Corn Gluten Meal
Sweet Bran®
Acidulants
Citric Acid
Anhydrous Citric Acid
Liquid Citric Acid
Sodium Citrate
Potassium Citrate
Glucosamine
Natural Vitamin E
D-Alpha Tocopheryl Acetate
Mixed Tocopherols
Phytosterols
FFA
FAME
Ethanol
Monosodium Glutamate
Feed Grade Threonine
Feed Grade Lysine
Cyclodextrins

Were we to quit processing corn for best uses, we would have to put millions of acres of corn ground back into federal subsidies to not grow crops on it, and we still have 30 million cropland acres sitting idle that we currently pay farmers billions of dollars to not grow corn on.

larry


45 posted on 07/25/2010 8:09:52 AM PDT by larry hagedon (born and raised and retired in Iowa.)
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To: larry hagedon

Thanks for posting that list of things made from corn. I am allergic to corn and now I see why I have had reactions to things I didn’t know were corn related.


46 posted on 07/25/2010 8:14:07 AM PDT by Ditter
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To: TYVets

We need to burn straight gas, with no ethanol, that way our internal combustion engines will never fail, will last forever.

Or do engines running on straight gasoline...GASP...also break down?????


47 posted on 07/25/2010 8:17:44 AM PDT by larry hagedon (born and raised and retired in Iowa.)
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To: Taxman

Let me guess, your fuel filter was dirty.

Gasoline is a very dirty fuel. Ethanol cleans up dirty gasoline and makes it burn cleaner. This plugs your fuel filter in older engines that have been burning straight gasoline for years. Often times you can just change your fuel filter and you are fine.

The best mix for older engines like my 92 Chrysler is E-30 up to E-40. It is not sold anywhere close to me, but I buy it every chance I get. Cleaner burning, fewer breakdowns and almost no mileage loss.

The engineers know it often happens that way with older cars burning E-30 or so, tho they can not explain it.


48 posted on 07/25/2010 9:24:26 AM PDT by larry hagedon (born and raised and retired in Iowa.)
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To: larry hagedon

The problem was that I do not drive the motor home very often — it may sit for several months without being driven, consequently, the gasahol ages in the tank.

I am lead to believe that ethanol begins to break down — “emulsify” in 6 weeks or so. It breaks down into water, alcohol and gasoline. And, the octane decreases.

So, the fuel pickup is alternately picking up water, alcohol and “old” gasoline — causing intermittant rough running and loss of power, particularly when trying to accelerate or pull a hill.

The fix was a new fuel filter, 1 oz of Sta-Bil blue per 5 gallons of fuel and several tanks of premium gasahol. After the engine smoothed out, I resumed using 87 octane gasahol without incident.

FResh ethanol is apparently OK for a few weeks. If you routinely refuel every couple of weeks, you will be OK without Sta-Bil.

One other factoid — in the days of “real” gas, you could resurrect old gas by pumping FResh gas into the tank.

Mixing old, emulsified gasahol with FResh gasahol makes a whole tank of bad gasahol!

If I were a lawyer, I’d file suit to force the government to allow unleaded gasoline back on the market!

I am a believer in Sta-Bil blue!


49 posted on 07/25/2010 11:31:26 AM PDT by Taxman (So that the beautiful pressure does not diminish!)
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To: larry hagedon

PS I changed the fuel filter twice on this most recent trip of 1700 miles.

Also, I am advised that more than 10% ethanol is not good for older engines, so additives containing ethanol should be avoided.


50 posted on 07/25/2010 11:35:32 AM PDT by Taxman (So that the beautiful pressure does not diminish!)
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To: RipSawyer

The forced use of gasahol in the USA is just another huge scam perpetrated on the public by Archer Daniels Midland, environmental whackos and an out-of-control dumbass Congress!

It has been pointed out countless times that use of gasahol does not save either gas or reduce US oil imports.

Maybe one day common sense will prevail and we’ll really force Congress to do the right thing!


51 posted on 07/25/2010 11:40:11 AM PDT by Taxman (So that the beautiful pressure does not diminish!)
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To: Taxman

Good, so now we know it is not the fuel fliter.

You are still getting bad advice.

E-40 will help, not hurt older engines, as it will clean the gunk out of them.

Even E-85 will not cause damage in older cars like my 92 Chrysler. It will slightly degrade performance in engines not tuned and set up for it, in that it takes a scond or two longer to start your vehicle and your cruise control will not hold your speed on hills very well, but it will not damage engines.

Here is a news flash; Engines run on straight gasoline sometimes fail too. Ethanol is just a handy scapegoat to blame for any engine failure.


52 posted on 07/25/2010 12:39:39 PM PDT by larry hagedon (born and raised and retired in Iowa.)
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To: Ditter

Corn, like peanuts, is processed into hundreds of products that are in turn incorporated as ingredients in thousands of food products. Yep, if you are allergic to either corn or peanuts, they are very hard to get away from.

To get away from them, always buy unprocessed foods and prepare them yourself. Raw hamburger should be OK, but fast food hamburgers could have anything in them. If you want a piece of cake, you have to make it yourself with all pure ingredients. Never use a cake mix, as it too can have anything in it.

Pure lard and pure butter should be all right, but oleo margarine and cooking oil again could have anything in it.


53 posted on 07/25/2010 12:53:57 PM PDT by larry hagedon (born and raised and retired in Iowa.)
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To: larry hagedon
Yes corn and corn products are very hard to escape from. They do not (not yet anyway) cause me a life threatening reaction. The exceptions might be disodium insonate and disodium guaynalate. Do you happen to know what they are made out of?
54 posted on 07/25/2010 1:00:29 PM PDT by Ditter
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To: Taxman

You make a good point about ethanol not being stable for long periods in unused vehicles. This is also an issue in farm machinery that is only used for a few weeks a year and for military vehicles left idle for long periods.

Ethanol producers and the Department of Defense are looking at the problem.

Until the issue is solved, if it ever is, sounds like your Sta-Bil Blue is a good answer to the problem.

Back before ethanol came along, we used alcohol based Heet to help clean out water and dirt from fuel tanks and systems.


55 posted on 07/25/2010 1:05:36 PM PDT by larry hagedon (born and raised and retired in Iowa.)
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To: patton

“Your theoretical loss of MPG should be just about 15%, using 10% ethonol vs. pure gasoline.”
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

I don’t know the calculation for that but if I lose that much I would be better off if I could filter out the alcohol and throw it away before I fill up! Why does ten percent ethanol cause a fifteen percent mileage drop?


56 posted on 07/25/2010 1:18:54 PM PDT by RipSawyer (Trying to reason with a leftist is like trying to catch sunshine in a fish net at midnight.)
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To: Taxman

Before ethanol we had the “forced” use of Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (MTBE) additive and before that Ethane and lead additives. Ethane, lead and MTBE proved to be harmful and were or are being withdrawn from use.

All of these are additives that are or were used to clean up dirty burning gasoline. None of them were intended to equal or better gasoline in miles per gallon.

Ethanol is being produced all over the world from a variety of feedstocks because it is profitable to produce and is readily salable to world wide markets.

Here in America, Ethanol offsets 10 percent of our oil imports that we would otherwise be buying from our enemies. This number is growing every year.

Hundreds of millions of dollars are being earned by tens of thousands of people employed in this American based industry and millions more in taxes are being paid for wages and profits earned. This money all stays in America.


57 posted on 07/25/2010 1:29:23 PM PDT by larry hagedon (born and raised and retired in Iowa.)
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To: larry hagedon

Well, I don’t like the stuff! It has caused me three years of grief and I have spent a hellofalot of time and money trying to resolve the issue of my motor home’ poor performance running this crap!

And, another thing; if 10% ethanol in the gas results in a 10% reduction in gas mileage, how have we used less oil?

I found this web site when researching my problem: http://www.fuel-testers.com/

You might want to take a look at it.


58 posted on 07/25/2010 1:51:45 PM PDT by Taxman (So that the beautiful pressure does not diminish!)
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To: Ditter

These food additives, disodium insonate and disodium guaynalate, seem to be made from various protein sources such as fish or soybeans. I would expect them to be made from corn also. In the near future, I am sure they will also be made from protein rich green algae cake.

They are said to be expensive and are often used sparingly with MSG as they enhance the effects of MSG.

They and MSG are often found occurring in complex ingredients and are often not listed on labels even when they are found there.

also see;

http://www.associatepublisher.com/e/d/di/disodium_guanylate.htm

http://www.associatepublisher.com/e/d/di/disodium_inosinate.htm


59 posted on 07/25/2010 1:53:00 PM PDT by larry hagedon (born and raised and retired in Iowa.)
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To: Taxman

Changing our habits of a lifetime can be irritating. Unfortunately gasoline is a very dirty fuel to use, and needs something to clean it up. Ethanol is the latest in a long procession of additives to attempt to do so. It was developed as a fuel additive to clean up the combustion, not as a mileage enhancer.

The good news is that with a little tweaking, it is proving it can replace gasoline to a substantial degree. This can save America a billion dollars a day in petroleum imports.

It also is providing good paying jobs for hundreds of thousands of Americans and is producing millions of dollars in tax revenue for America, and those numbers are growing every year.

Take any of these mileage loss figures with a grain of salt. A lot of them are not based on very good data.

E-85 does not make for 85 percent reduction in mileage. Engines designed and tuned for it will get nearly normal mileages. Some will even get better mileage than straight gasoline numbers, tho no one yet understands why.

For reason not yet understood, E-30 to E-40 often gets as good of mileage as straight gasoline, even in older vehicles.


60 posted on 07/25/2010 2:10:49 PM PDT by larry hagedon (born and raised and retired in Iowa.)
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