Waive goodbye to ethanol
Washington Examiner,
by
Editorial
Original Article
Posted By: Pluperfect,
5/31/2019 5:20:00 AM
Markets thrive on competition. Unfortunately, this doesn’t just apply to real economic markets. It also applies to markets for bad ideas and political pandering.
With approximately 200 Democrats now running for president (we lost count a few weeks ago), the bidding to bribe Iowa caucusgoers is becoming intense. This is unfortunate not just because it is unseemly but also because the offers are coming at the expense of the nation’s well-being and the environment’s health.
The worst pander so far comes from Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn. When she is not privately belittling her staff in ALL CAPS 4 a.m. emails, Klobuchar is attempting to gain
Reply 1 - Posted by:
Krause 5/31/2019 5:36:52 AM (No. 87428)
What is the redeeming value of ethanol?
15 people like this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
chumley 5/31/2019 5:49:33 AM (No. 87432)
That garbage costs more, reduces my gas mileage by about 10% and my car isn't as perky. Like the 55 mph speed limit and daylight savings time, if it ever had any value it is long past.
33 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
F15 Gork 5/31/2019 6:20:35 AM (No. 87451)
I’m old enough to remember the good old days when you could pull into a full service station and tell the attendant to “Fill her up with Ethyl” - that was the good high octane stuff with lead baked in and no other additives. It’s really a Hillary getting old......
15 people like this.
It never did make sense to use food as a fuel. The world is awash with oil but it is not awash with food and our production should be aimed at making that as affordable for ourselves and the world as possible. The real problem is going to be farmers giving up food production for the more profitable marijuana production. That is going to cause more famine than anyone can imagine.
33 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
GO3 5/31/2019 6:38:14 AM (No. 87465)
Ethanol has a lot of redeeming value, just not for my vehicle and lawn tractor ; )
18 people like this.
further to 5's response, this Spring and all the really awful weather in the midwest corn belt is likely to keep corn production way under ordinary seasons. I'd like to believe someone with common sense in gov't (yeah, I know) might just "waive" corn production for ethanol so that farmers can get back to the business of farming - for food. What limited harvest there will be would have greater human value in cereal and corn meal and corn syrup and other food based applications that we aren't even aware of.
And taco shells!!!
23 people like this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
franq 5/31/2019 7:33:14 AM (No. 87504)
Exhibit A in crony capitalism.
12 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
Judy W. 5/31/2019 7:34:32 AM (No. 87505)
I think the "waive" in the headline is a pun, not a misspelling, since they want us to waive the ethanol requirement.
18 people like this.
Reply 9 - Posted by:
Fosterdad 5/31/2019 7:59:03 AM (No. 87524)
I live in the corn belt, my brother and his wife own a farm, and I agree that we need to get rid of ethanol. There are a billion starving people in the world and we're putting food into cars. If that isn't the definition of insanity, nothing is.
24 people like this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
Paperpuncher 5/31/2019 8:20:31 AM (No. 87544)
Agree with all above. There are several problems with this mess.
1. The production of ethanol is more expensive and more harmful to the environment than gasoline.
2. Ethanol leaves deposits and eats parts on carburetors on small engines, as well as larger engines. 3. It is less efficient than gasoline and reduces the fuel mileage on your car.
4. And here is the big one: Subsidizing corn farmers and creating an artificial demand for corn significantly drives up the price of food products that depend on corn. Not only cornmeal and corn additives, but most meat products which livestock depends on corn for feed. Example: In all the food markets I have been in since around 2005 or so the price of pork products has actually tripled. Beef: have you looked at the price of porterhouse steaks lately. I can no longer afford to buy them. Literally everything you eat has spiked in price due the the artificial demand on corn caused by this. And the additional prize at the end of this is that the government does not use the price of food in calculating the rate of inflation. Really? In the mean time the large industrial farmers are making millions if not billions off subsidies on something that should never be subsidized. Needless to say, I am pi-sed and want to see this horrible waste to stop so I can afford my retirement and not have to eat dog food.
33 people like this.
The only valid role of ethanol is to achieve U.S. energy independence from the middle east.
0 people like this.
Reply 12 - Posted by:
planetgeo 5/31/2019 8:25:47 AM (No. 87555)
Another reason the Democrats will never "waive" goodbye to ethanol is that it's in effect their welfare program for farmers. Getting corn farmers hooked on it is part of the Democrat plan for turning the corn belt blue.
15 people like this.
Reply 13 - Posted by:
gone2pot 5/31/2019 8:35:44 AM (No. 87570)
The feds using tax payer money to buy food, then burn it, using two gallons of gasoline to produce one gallon of "planet saving" ethanol, will end when the space shuttle lands safely in my driveway and I win Powerball five times in a row without buying a ticket and the GOP stops falling down, rolling over and soiling itself whenever a Marxist whispers boo in their ears. (For Rio Lindans, that would be never)
9 people like this.
Reply 14 - Posted by:
Terry_tr6 5/31/2019 8:45:52 AM (No. 87585)
Don't you just love it when farmers say all they want is a level playing field and be free from goverrnment interference so they can sell their product world wide?
9 people like this.
Reply 15 - Posted by:
Clinger 5/31/2019 9:06:30 AM (No. 87607)
Just an example of creeping socialism we weren't supposed to notice.
7 people like this.
Reply 16 - Posted by:
Nevadadad46 5/31/2019 9:16:23 AM (No. 87617)
Once a warped meme get's stuck in government by law, it is almost impossible to cut it out. Like hate crime laws, "Scare the planet!" laws, anti-gun laws, abortion laws, forced bussing laws and Obamacare. And that names just a few of the bigger ones. This ethanol crap is in the law! It is there becasue it benefits huge financial interests- mega farms, little farms, auto-manufacturers, oil industry and- worst of them all - politicians! Yep. Try not appeasing the Corn Lobby and see what happens to your political career in the mid-west and even beyond. If you are a pol and your donations are flagging- just come out and rail against Ethanol. Those jokers will rush to your office with hard, cold cash in hand propping your dead beat a55 up. And their little minions in the "Environmental" Kook department will be parading around your Town Halls demanding your head if you do not do what the Corn guys tell you to do.
That is the problem with corn! And it is not going to be getting the "Waive" any time soon. Count on it.
7 people like this.
Ethanol is not going anywhere. There is too much money already in the industry. Corn farmers (including big food conglomerates) give way too much money to PACs and various congressmen. Congress will not do away with it willingly.
8 people like this.
Reply 18 - Posted by:
Leathernuts 5/31/2019 9:48:12 AM (No. 87649)
The dubious value of ethanol is apparent when it comes to small engines. Before it was pointed out to me, I replaced several carburetors on small engines because that crap was eating the guts. A buddy has a small engine repair shop and he says 90-95% of the issues owners experience with their gear is due to ethanol. So we are forced into a dilemma: buy more carburetors, or buy expensive marine gas for boat motors.
The subsidiary fits the Great Ronaldus Magnumus dictum: The closest thing to eternal life on this earth is a government program.
9 people like this.
Reply 19 - Posted by:
jacksin5 5/31/2019 10:04:40 AM (No. 87673)
If the Pols are so enamored with subsidizing farmers by mandating the use of Ethanol in fuel, why not buy up corn surpluses, and go back to feeding the world's poor as part of our Foreign Aid.
No more cash for Dictators, food for their citizens.
3 people like this.
Reply 20 - Posted by:
DVC 5/31/2019 10:56:34 AM (No. 87733)
#13, I don't disagree at all with your overall premise, certainly ethanol is harmful but your item #2 is factually incorrect
as to the mechanism for harm.
Ethanol attracts and holds water in a mix with gasoline, doesn't permit it to separate like it normally would. If this water
contaminated ethanol-gasoline mix is left in a carburetor for a long time, it will cause corrosion of the metal parts. The
corrosion products are what clog and damage the carburetor. If ethanol fuel is run quickly through small engines, and not
left in them for long periods, it is not AS harmful. One other problem, much reduced as manufacturers adapt to the
damned ethanol is that some polymers used for fuel lines or other parts incontact with fuel will age harden and crack
more rapidly, over a period of a few years, leading to failed fuel system components, most commonly broken plastic
fuel lines. Ethanol is NOT good for engines, but is most harmful because of the entrapped water causing corrosion.
This is most harmful to engines like mowers, outboards, chain saws, power washers, generators, etc which see
seasonal service and are damaged when stored with fuel in the carbs.
The "leaves deposits and eats components" isn't really the ethanol, which leaves no deposits itself, but the water it can
attract and hold an indirectly give results something like that. A more accurate description would be "causes
corrosion damage and more rapid aging for fuel system parts".
In the end, the result is the same - damaged small engines, but the mechanism is different - but caused by ethanol.
6 people like this.
Reply 21 - Posted by:
felixcat 5/31/2019 11:08:43 AM (No. 87754)
Re #19 - So like politicians, corn farmers in Iowa put their own selfish interests ahead of what is best for the country. Screw Iowa.
6 people like this.
Reply 22 - Posted by:
HotRod 5/31/2019 11:23:47 AM (No. 87771)
Eliminating this foolish program could make more corn available for good ol' corn whiskey! That is an export that sells exceptionally well around the world, not to mention here at home!
2 people like this.
Reply 23 - Posted by:
Jubal 5/31/2019 11:31:26 AM (No. 87781)
It's way past time to label ethanol correctly.
It's food stamps for farmers.
4 people like this.
Reply 24 - Posted by:
DennisM 5/31/2019 11:42:08 AM (No. 87789)
Besides burning a food source in our vehicles it's not economical feasible to produce and transport.
Just like windmills and electric cars common sense is thrown out the window.
4 people like this.
Reply 25 - Posted by:
TXLakeRat 5/31/2019 12:10:11 PM (No. 87815)
I can't believe y'all don't think taking food off the table of the poor and turning it into a very inefficient and harmful form of gasoline is not a good idea. WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE???
/s
5 people like this.
Reply 26 - Posted by:
JohnReid56 5/31/2019 12:17:15 PM (No. 87822)
#1, the redeeming value of ethanol, when it's not de-natured is that it helps you temporarily forget all of your troubles. :-0 In college, we used to make a wicked good punch with pure grain alcohol, AKA ethanol.
2 people like this.
Reply 27 - Posted by:
smcchk 5/31/2019 12:31:40 PM (No. 87828)
The entire Midwest is a cool, soggy mess. Fields have not been planted anywhere! Or very limited. There is not going to be any corn this season. I do not know why the media is not making more of this because it looks like a coming catastrophe to me. The first thing we can do is to get rid of the ethanol requirement. There will not be enough corn!
4 people like this.
Reply 28 - Posted by:
Smart11344 5/31/2019 1:47:15 PM (No. 87867)
Ethanol was always a bad idea. Higher costs, poorer gas mileage, engine damage. The nonsense of ethanol must STOP. The government subsidizes ethanol. I am stunned that my current favorite President didn't shut down the gasoline/ethanol mix soon after he took office. I'll say he did have a lot of stuff to undo from Obama. But, please do us a major favor and get rid of corn made gasoline.
3 people like this.
Reply 29 - Posted by:
Smart11344 5/31/2019 2:07:40 PM (No. 87874)
Thank God for this miracle. Ethanol should never been used to mix with gasoline. Lover gas mieage, damage to engine componets, etc. Get RID of ehthanol. The sooner the better. Besides the government has subsidized the farmers for the corn to mix to the gasolne. What a boondoggle.
3 people like this.
Reply 30 - Posted by:
Rumblehog 5/31/2019 2:10:55 PM (No. 87876)
This crap has ruined TWO brand new power tools in only one year's time. The first was a mower and the second a power washer, both ended up needing new carburetors due to the gunk that this stuff makes when it interacts with every rubber/plastic part in a fuel system and engine. My engine repairman told me to use mid-grade fuel instead to get away from this 10% crap. In Dallas you can hardly find gas station that doesn't have ethanol-based gasoline. It's horrid. Tell the corn farmers to grow FOOD CORN and stop this unsustainable subsidy.
3 people like this.
Reply 31 - Posted by:
BigGeorgeTX 5/31/2019 5:28:25 PM (No. 87955)
Great new... Now we'll hear the outcry from environmentalists about carbon, ADM and large corporate farms due to loss of their subsidy.
1 person likes this.
We have been supporting big sugar for years. Now it's the corn crowd. Nice to help out, but it isn't needed for either of them. Count the aisles in your grocery store that offers sugar products...amazing! We are hooked! Ethanol is available everywhere too, offered up by Congress dudes seeking votes at the expense of the rest of us. Please reduce support on both........oh, let me pop that pimple for you, it's big one!
1 person likes this.
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