Free Republic

The Renewable Fuels Standard — that oh so ingenious method of creating a fake market for a not-green, not-clean, food-price-spiking, special-interest-serving and overall terrible product — requires that the nation’s refiners blend an ever-increasing volume of specified and so-called biofuels into the fuel supply. Refiners, however, are insisting that we’re now getting to a point at which mixing the required volumes will exceed the 10 percent ethanol threshold they find acceptable for use in cars and trucks, a.k.a. hitting the “blend wall.” Refiners that don’t manage to achieve the mandated volume of biofuels are required to purchase credits (RINs), and...

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Spring rains cascade over the lip of the Norris Dam in a torrent of white foam and spray. A hundred yards downriver from this concrete waterfall, people stop at the little park to record the scene on their smart phones or digital cameras. It is an image made for a postcard -- a remarkable marriage of nature and technology. And a centerpiece of the Tennessee Valley Authority. Created in 1933 by President Roosevelt, the TVA brought electricity to Appalachia, with the goal that wiring up Tennessee, parts of North Carolina, Alabama and Mississippi would help bring prosperity...