Free Republic

Is corn-based ethanol fuel the wave of the future, creating domestic jobs and vital to the nation's energy supply? Or is it a taxpayer boondoggle responsible for higher food prices? For some in Washington, the answers to those questions have changed. For years, ethanol fuel derived from corn was almost politically untouchable, thanks to powerful advocates on Capitol Hill. The ethanol industry has consequently exploded over the last decade, thanks to government subsidies and incentives. But skepticism about ethanol is rising, prompted by fluctuating food prices and an organized campaign by anti-ethanol advocates to discredit the industry. “The old saying...

The Obama Administration appears to be preparing to "soak" taxpayers again -- this time by touting cellulosic ethanol as a viable alternative fuel.

The Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association (UNICA) is discounting gasoline by 54 cents per gallon on the Tuesday before Memorial Day at two Capitol Hill gas stations to draw attention to a 54 cents per gallon tariff on imported ethanol. “The one-day discount will provide Washington area residents with a preview of how Americans across the country could save money at the pump if Congress ends this unfair import tax later this year,” reads the UNICA release on the promotion. Growth EnergyThe promotion is not sitting well with ethanol organization Growth Energy. “The only thing we should be importing from Brazil...

The battle lines are forming over a plan to move the ethanol "blend wall" from 10 percent gasoline content to 15 percent. Forces pushing for 15 percent include farmers unions, Midwest members of Congress, some environmental groups, and state legislatures whose Renewable Energy Standards may fail without mandated biofuels. With ethanol production now over 10 billion gallons/year, supply is exceeding mandated demand.

Environment: Our growing addiction to alternative energy was killing aquatic life in the Gulf long before the Deepwater Horizon spill. Abandoning oil will kill more and also release more carbon dioxide into the air. President Obama sees the oil spill as a chance to make the planet a greener place by weaning us off fossil fuels and pushing us toward alternative energy. The earth and the Gulf of Mexico have indeed been getting greener lately, thanks to agricultural runoff due to a mandated surge in biofuels such as ethanol. Before the first gallon gushed from Deepwater Horizon, there existed an...

You may never have never heard of Patricia Woertz, or Archer Daniels Midland. Woertz is the CEO of ADM, America’s 27th largest company, and it’s the largest company headed by a female in the US. The reason you ought to care is that Woertz and ADM have the power to make your life more expensive – much more expensive. And they have been aggressively exercising that power for over 30 years. ADM is the largest primary food processor in the country – it turns corn and soybeans (among other products) into a host of consumer products: corn flakes, cornstarch, corn...

The editors of Investor’s Business Daily write: Environment: Our growing addiction to alternative energy was killing aquatic life in the Gulf long before the Deepwater Horizon spill. Abandoning oil will kill more and also release more carbon dioxide into the air. President Obama sees the oil spill as a chance to make the planet a greener place by weaning us off fossil fuels and pushing us toward alternative energy. The earth and the Gulf of Mexico have indeed been getting greener lately, thanks to agricultural runoff due to a mandated surge in biofuels such as ethanol. Before the first gallon...

This time it's the powerful "renewable fuels" industry saying that regulators are needlessly worried and that everything will work out fine. Desperate because they've built too many ethanol plants, these corn growers and agri-processors are pushing government to increase the amount of ethanol allowed in gasoline by half. If they succeed, the miles per gallon you get from your car or truck will drop. And companies such as Archer Daniels Midland and Exxon will pocket millions more in undeserved taxpayer subsidies. "Our ethanol industry shouldn't have to continue to be restricted from development," said Rep. Adrian Smith, a Nebraska Republican...

Last week, Tom Waterman, the editor and publisher of The Ethanol Monitor, published a list of the top ten enemies of ethanol. Here’s the list: #10: Business Week/Ed Wallace (Bloomberg) #9: GRIST #8: “Big Oil” #7: Grocery Manufacturers Association #6: David Pimentel #5: Robert Rapier #4: Tim Searchinger #3: Wall Street Journal (editorial board) #2: California Air Resources Board #1: Time Magazine (Michael Grunwald) Of course, Waterman can write whatever he likes, but the fact that the ethanol boosters would produce a list of enemies is indicative of just how paranoid the ethanol scammers are getting. And their nuttiness appears...

In its calm and measured way, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) just delivered a blistering assessment of the environmental value of corn-based ethanol. The CBO had been charged by Congress to calculate just what the public is getting for its investment in ethanol production: specifically, the $0.45/gallon tax credit that gasoline blenders get for mixing ethanol into the fuel supply. In 2009, 10.8 billion gallons of corn ethanol got used in such a manner, costing the federal Treasury $5.16 billion in reduced tax revenue. What did we get for that fat wad of cash, in environmental terms? The question is...