Could the end be near for ethanol? I hope so

[bull]

http://news.yahoo.com/why-everybody-hates-ethanol-mandate-060400105.html

"This week, the EPA is expected to announce changes to the ethanol mandate, a 2007 law that requires energy companies to mix billions of gallons of ethanol into gasoline and diesel fuels. After six years in the mix, corn-based ethanol has lost its popularity, and a diverse group of critics is calling for the law's repeal."

[myk]

Good.  My ancient, un-eco-friendly cars can't take much more of it...

[JB400]

They are considering cutting the amount of ethanol by 3 million gallons.  It suits me just fine.  I'm tired of my car running on water.  It doesn't like it.

[Chargen69]

we can only dream

[Dino]

Does that means gas will cost us $10/gallon?

[chargerboy69]

The greenies are running their commercials on the radio here in Indiana telling us how important ethanol is to us.

[68blue]

As the dc law/lobby firms square off over this you can bet they'll be the only winners. Been seeing the same adds.

[Ghoste]

I hope it is the end but I'll be pleasantly surprised if it comes true.  There is huge money at stake and big ego's on the line.  The EPA are not very good at admitting they are wrong.

[bull]

Does that means gas will cost us $10/gallon?

Only if they want to punish us for not accepting it. There's some info in the article making the case that ethanol actually increases the cost of gas, and a lot of other things.

[Mike DC]

IMO the ethanol in gasoline is mainly a handout to the corn lobby.  It sounds good on paper but it's really just spending more oil to grow/produce the ethanol instead of spending more oil making gas.  Smart people say ethanol is a net energy loss in comparison too.

[Ghoste]

Absolutely Mike.  They buy farm votes, green votes and ethanol producer votes.

[Aero426]

Corn gas has been around for a LONG time.  Probably was an octane boost to the low quality gas in the 1930's.

[Ghoste]

No question about that, its the mandated part that adds a different wrinkle.

[chargd72]

There's a large race community using ethanol.  I hope they don't make it unobtainable. 

[Ghoste]

It will be around, don't worry about that.  Plenty of uses for it without using taxpayer money to force it onto a market where it does more harm than good.

[bull]

It will be around, don't worry about that.  Plenty of uses for it without using taxpayer money to force it onto a market where it does more harm than good.

Government mandates is what screws things up. Look no further than Obamacare for proof. While a cause the government takes up may be a laudable one in concept its participation in the implementation of those causes usually results in total chaos and disaster. This should have been left to the free market. When the government gets a "great" idea it's like "I will love him and squeeze him and call him George."

[Mike DC]

Government mandates is what screws things up. Look no further than Obamacare for proof. While a cause the government takes up may be a laudable one in concept its participation in the implementation of those causes usually results in total chaos and disaster. This should have been left to the free market. When the government gets a "great" idea it's like "I will love him and squeeze him and call him George."

If I looked into a crystal ball, and told you that 15 more years of the current (pre-Obama) system would have just made things more expensive & done more to erode the middle class . . . come on, seriously, would you be surprised to hear that at all?  That is leaving things to the free market.  We've been doing it since about the early 1980s.  It has gotten us here and the graph of costs just keeps pointing upwards.   

I don't know what the right system is.  I don't think it's Obama's system.  But I'm also I'm pretty sure the right answer is not doing more of the same.

 

[bull]

The free market when it comes to something like this (not limiting consumers to only one type of product) is way better than leaving things to an agenda-driven government with lobbyists in its hip pocket. Too often government forces this kind of inept and uninformed legislation on the people en masse, persists with it despite the results and responds with punitive measures if you don't fall in line. There is no perfect system but I'll take free market over legislation most of the time.

That said, if I don't mind driving 10 miles to one station, or 15 to another, or 8 to a boat dock pump where I have to haul 2.5 gallons at a time by hand, I do have the ability to buy non-ethanol gas. That's the kind of choices you get when government takes over.

[ws23rt]

It will be around, don't worry about that.  Plenty of uses for it without using taxpayer money to force it onto a market where it does more harm than good.

Government mandates is what screws things up. Look no further than Obamacare for proof. While a cause the government takes up may be a laudable one in concept its participation in the implementation of those causes usually results in total chaos and disaster. This should have been left to the free market. When the government gets a "great" idea it's like "I will love him and squeeze him and call him George."

I agree also and like your cartoon example.   

The free market and economic engine is where wealth and prosperity come from.  It is like a golden goose.

Liberals put the goose in a cage. They take away his food ,talk mean to him and poke him with a stick.

Conservatives let him out of the cage. Feed and pet him.  A happy well fed goose lays bigger better eggs.

[Mike DC]

  
Then why did we create anti-trust laws a century ago?  That's just the govt restricting the free market. 

[HeavyFuel]

Find out where you can get real gas.

http://pure-gas.org/

[Ghoste]

That link applies to Canada as well as an fyi for anyone who might not click on it thinking its US only.

[hemigeno]

Find out where you can get real gas.

http://pure-gas.org/

36 miles - each way - to the nearest ethanol-free gas pump for me... 

[Ghoste]

Ouch.  Luckily the closest station to me is one, eight blocks.

[Todd Wilson]

Ethanol is only going to increase.  15% will be normal before too long. Everyone is getting $ out of the deal. Refineries get $ to put eth into gas and the stations are getting $ to sell it.


Todd