Renewable Story

Periodically I write about ethanol in gas for our cars and motor vehicles - a renewable story you might say. There has been some new activity on this front recently that is of interest for those of us who are tired of our cars catching and choking in the morning with water condensed in the fuel line overnight, schlepping across town to buy clear (non-ethanol) gas for our boats, etc., etc. And then there is the $40 billion in taxpayer subsidies to the ethanol industry since 1978, the raising of U.S. and world food prices, which in turn created food shortages in parts of the world, and other deleterious effects of this turkey of an idea.  

The EPA issued a proposed rule reducing the required levels of ethanol on November 15 by 3 billions gallons per year by not going from an E10 standard (10% ethanol) to an E15 standard (15% ethanol) in gasoline. This higher standard had been scheduled to go into effect that date and the EPA, bowing to sanity and away from wrecking our economy with more of a bad thing, relented. Finally. 

The move drew bi-partisan support, which is amazing itself any more. This is the second move toward junking this pork barrel sop to Midwest corn growers. The ethanol pirates raid of U.S. taxpayers ended in 2011 when a bipartisan coalition in Congress ended its $6 billion/year tax-credit subsidy. 

finance.townhall.com/columnists/maritanoon/2013/11/24/green-energy-the-rotary-dial-phone-of-the-future-n1752282/page/2