“The trouble is, if we burn our food as “cheap” fuel, then food gets more expensive. (All crops). Of course then the farmers will figure that out pretty quick. “Hey everyone is growing corn for fuel - and the price of beans is way up. I’ll grow beans!—
I agree with everything you posted. The oil companies came up with MTBE as an additive to reduce emissions. They had a deal going since it was a throwaway byproduct of refining. The problem was that it was “persisitent” and began to poison our groundwater, so they troted out Ethanol as an alternative. But it too is problematic when used in large quantities in IC Engines. So now the government has it’s butt in a crack because the corn farmers like being rich at taxpayers expense. My bet is that Cruz, being in the pocket of the oil companies, wants Ethanol out not because it’s a bad idea, but because the oil companies make more money if gasoline is all gasoline. 99% of the time, all you have to do to figure out why something is so, is to follow the money and who makes it.
Cruz doubles down on phasing out ethanol mandate
"In a Des Moines Register op-ed Wednesday, Cruz said he would look to "phase out the Renewable Fuel Standard, end all energy subsidies, and ensure a level playing field for everyone,".....
ethanol is destructive to engines, especially small ones
There is no good reason to subsidize or mandate this crap be added to gasoline and a lot of good reasons not to.
My guess is that since ethanol degrades petrochemicals and causes lower fuel efficiency beyond just its lower therm rating, its effect on the oil industry is a wash. Add ethanol, and you will burn more oil anyway. And you can no longer store it long term, so there is more wastage.
I don’t think big oil gives a rip about ethanol. However you may have a point that Ethanol is mandated. I suspect big oil can out produce Ethanol right now with the oil glut, that might not be true at all when oil is a hundred bucks a barrel.