Get Rid of Ethanol Subsidies, Save the World

America's farmers are closely eyeing commodity prices to help them decide what crops they should plant in their fields.

For American farmers, the options look great economically. Soybean futures are fetching 44 percent more than last year; wheat futures now get 69 percent more than a year ago and corn futures are up a full 92 percent.

But for buyers, especially in countries like China, India, Tunisia, Philippines, Egypt, Jordan, Indonesia and Pakistan where food is a full third or more of consumptive income, this spike in food prices is an economic crisis.

Many factors contribute to the world's food emergency. The most severe come from natural causes: drought in Argentina, China and Russia; floods in Australia, Canada and Pakistan.

But there is a set of man-made policies that is having a particularly pernicious impact on marginal world food prices while simultaneously costing the U.S. treasury more than $5 billion annually.

These are our policies to support the production and use of ethanol, a corn-based fuel. Congress provides a subsidy for every gallon of gasoline blended with ethanol. Congress also mandates its use.

It is true that ethanol provides a cleaner and environmentally safer octane boost than its alternatives. But it remains highly debatable whether it offers any net energy savings or any net environmental benefit.

Indeed, by the time one factors in all the petroleum-based inputs that go into ethanol's production and distribution (fertilizer, tilling, harvesting and shipping), David Pimentel at Cornell University estimates that it takes 1.3 gallons of oil to produce one gallon of ethanol.

And even if it takes, as some contend, a little less than a gallon of oil to produce a gallon of ethanol, that claim that ethanol provides environmental benefits becomes more questionable when one considers the water consumption, the fertilizer-laden run-off and pollution inherent in its production and distribution.

In the meantime, however, ethanol's mandated and subsidized use has tilted farmer's planting decisions towards corn. More and more corn is going to ethanol production. And consequently, less and less of what could be food supply is going to address the increasing world demand for food.

Ethanol is an inefficient substitute for petroleum. Subsidizing it not only costs the U.S. taxpayer over $5 billion each year, but it artificially incentivizes converting what could be food production into inefficient energy production at a time when the world is facing a most serious food crisis.

Getting rid of our nation's ethanol subsidy would help improve our country's balance sheet. But more importantly, it would eliminate an artificial price distortion contributing to a global food emergency.




Source

Bill Clinton Says Ethanol Could Spark Riots

Former President Clinton added his voice to those with concerns about U.S. corn usage for ethanol production. In a major speech this morning to USDA’s Outlook Forum, Clinton warned that competition for food stock could impact food prices and spark food riots in developing countries.

Clinton, who now works on international development issues through his New York-based foundation, said that U.S. farmers need to be aware of the developing countries food needs as well as the domestic ethanol market. He acknowledged, however, the role of ethanol in reducing the U.S. dependence on imported fuels.

Clinton’s remarks drew immediate reaction from U.S. ethanol and corn production organizations. A statement from Growth Energy, a trade organization representing biofuel companies, noted, “We appreciate that President Clinton understands the important role American ethanol plays in reducing our dependence on foreign oil and strengthening our national security.





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Ethanol Will Raise Food Prices, Harm Environment

Ethanol

As usual, the U.S. government is turning a blind eye to the truth and facts, and continues down the disastrous path of subsidizing ethanol, which will continue to cause huge problems in the near and distant future.

The U.S. government's plan to increase its ethanol mandate will mean higher food prices and more harm to the environment, according to an impact study conducted for two groups that oppose the increase.

"We continue to believe the government's excessive support of the mature corn-based ethanol industry is simply wrong, since it means burning food for fuel," spokesman Gary Mickelson of Tyson Foods Inc. of Springdale said in a statement after Bill Lapp, an agricultural analyst, released his study.

"This policy has contributed to higher corn prices, which have led to increased input costs for food makers — including independent livestock producers — and higher food prices for consumers," Mickelson said.

Corn is a major expense to poultry and beef producers, who want to reduce costs. Ethanol is a fuel additive distilled from plants. That distilling is a major market for corn that corn growers want to increase.

The federal government has a mandate that 10 percent of the fuel coming out of commercial gasoline pumps must be ethanol blended into the gasoline. The Environmental Protection Agency is considering a rule to increase that mandate to 15 percent. The government also maintains a tariff of 54 cents a gallon on imported ethanol.

A recent study from the Food and Agriculture Policy Research Institute at the University of Missouri determined approval of 15-percent ethanol blends would increase corn prices by just $0.04 per bushel, ethanol advocates said in response to Lapp's study.

Increasing the ethanol mandate to 15 percent would require planting as much as 111 million acres of corn, according to Lapp's study. Ethanol would use almost half of the corn crop harvested by 2015. The Grocery Manufacturers Association commissioned the study. The U.S. corn acreage in 2008 was about 85 million acres, U.S. Department of Agriculture figures show.

"Corn and soybean meal are major production costs in the poultry industry, representing 47% of the cost of growing a chicken in 2008," Mickelson said. "Tyson's annual corn and soybean meal expenditures almost doubled from fiscal 2006 to fiscal 2008 and ethanol was a significant reason for the increase."

These arguments have been heard before, the pro-ethanol Renewable Fuels Association replied.

"Time and again, American farmers have answered the need for food, feed and renewable fuel," said association President Bob Dinneen in a statement. "Yet, time and again well-heeled groups seeking to derail the expansion of ethanol are trying to pull the wool over our eyes.

"Many will recall last summer's effort to finger ethanol as skyrocketing oil prices, a weak dollar, speculation, droughts, and global demand drove grain and food prices higher," Dinneen's statement said. "At the time, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Texas A&M University , and scores of other reputable analysts found such claims to be biased, overblown and outrageous. Even the Congressional Budget Office has looked at the issue and found that energy prices had 3 times the impact on the rising price of food than was the increased use of ethanol. Despite being thoroughly refuted last summer and lacking credibility on the issue, these groups are back at it again."

The ethanol industry is struggling even at its current 10 percent mandate. The fall in fuel prices from last year's record highs has severely hurt ethanol interests, industry figures show.

Ethanol's chief use in the United States is for a fuel additive. Ethanol in gasoline reduces carbon emissions and the price of gasoline, advocates say. However, ethanol plants are hard-pressed to make a profit when fuel prices are as low as they are now, according to industry figures -- even though gasoline prices remain higher than $2.50 a gallon at the pump.

At least 10 ethanol companies have sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the past year, Bloomberg Business News reports. Valero Energy Corp., the nation's largest independent oil refiner, became an ethanol plant owner in April by buying up seven Midwestern ethanol plants for pennies on the dollar compared to the original investment, Associated Press reports.

"You are going to see this become a trend ... especially with the government wanting to go green," Daniel Flynn, an analyst who follows the renewable fuels industry for Chicago-based Alaron Trading, told Associated Press about the Valero buy. "There are a lot of these ethanol plants hanging by a hair. This could be the perfect time for the big companies to step in."

The U.S. Energy Department reported last week that gasoline supplies climbed 3.39 million barrels to 205 million in the week ended June 12, the largest increase since Jan. 16, Bloomberg reported.

"If you're not eating that much hamburger, you're not using as much Hamburger Helper," Peyton Feltus, president of Randolph Risk Management in Dallas, told Bloomberg. "Until demand shows a sustainable increase, we can't hold these prices up" for ethanol, he said.

Ethanol advocates received another setback earlier this month when a U.S. House panel allowed the federal Environmental Protection Agency to take a wider look at the commodity's environmental impact.

The House Appropriations Committee defeated, 29-30, an amendment to bar the Environmental Protection Agency from using so-called indirect land-use change when measuring greenhouse gases from biofuels, Reuters news service reported.

The United States is the world's major supplier of corn. Critics of ethanol claim that the environment is damaged as other nations have to put more land into farming to produce food as more U.S. corn goes to ethanol. The legislation would allow the EPA to study the question and determine if this increase in farm acreage worldwide offsets or at least mitigates ethanol's environmental benefit.

"There is a huge negative effect here," said Rep. Jo Ann Emerson, R-Missouri, who said an unfair EPA rule "could stop U.S. ethanol production in its tracks."

Scale of Consumption

Corn can produce about 200 gallons of ethanol per acre. If all the corn acreage in the United States were converted to fuel production with corn ethanol, the nation could produce 10 billion gallons of ethanol, the equivalent of about 8 billion gallons of gasoline per year, or about half a million barrels per day. The U.S. consumed about 20 million barrels of crude per day in 2007.

Ethanol

Ethanol Problems Continue to Pressure Abandoning the Industry

Ethanol is becoming an increasingly controversial fuel source and problem, as the taxpayer subsidy is the only reason it can even be seriously considered as an alternative to regular gasoline.

The effect of ethanol on small engines has been a disaster, and yet proponents continue to ignore that and push for even higher levels of the mix in order to try to save the propped-up industry.

So far the basic standard has been E10, but even at that level it's harmful to owners of equipment with small engines,

With the cold weather this year, snowmobile owners have had a great opportunity to enjoy the outdoors, but the harm done by ethynol to small engines have brought them to the repair shop more often than not. Repair shop workers have said they're filled with machines waiting to be fixed because of the damage done from ethanol-ruined engines.

Other products used that are always are ruined in the repair shops at this time are snowblowers and chainsaws. Fears are the bad gas will cause even more harm in the biofuel disaster, and end up not only hurting equipment, but people as well. The danger is very real.

In the summer months all the usual power equipment we use like ATVs, lawnmowers and boats, among others, have the same survival challenge, as the engines face the same problems of their winter counterparts.

Along with starting and running problems, ethanol can also eat away at parts of the engine, effectively destroying them.

The two major problems beyond that, are the environment and food prices, which are impacted negatively from ethanol, especially corn-based ethanol. But even cellulosic ethanol won't be any better, and it'll be much more expensive, raising food prices even higher.

A recent study said oil would have to go to a price level of $233 a barrel in order for ethanol to break even.

The ethanol hoax and scam needs to be ended and put to rest. There are already numerous uprising against the misguided plan, and petitions are being signed and recommendations being made to stop the folly.

One politician even recently said that the reason we have to keep going with ethanol is because we've spent so much money on it already. That's plain nuts! You don't keep spending money in order to justify bad policies. It makes no sense at all.

Other than catering to the rich farm lobby, there's nothing good in pursuing the ethanol fiasco. The idea that jobs are being created is a fantasy. Sure you can get the loans and put construction workers together to build a plant. But like they're finding out, it's been a cruel joke on those that were given false hopes; especially the rural areas.

Outdoor equipment companies rightly assert that ethanol backers don't give an honest account fo the dangers and problems consumers will and do experience from the harmful effects of the biofuel.

Even if this weren't difficult times, ethanol would be a complete disaster, but when include the extensive damage to the equipment of people, potential bodily harm, cost of repairs, environmental inputs and higher costs of food, it's cruel to destroy people's lives continuing on with the harmful ethanol initiative.

What's the best way to protect your equipment? Don't put ethanol in them in the first place. All you'll get are more problems and headaches, along with potentially dangerous situations.

Weak Economy Exposes Ethanol Subsidy Debacle

Towns across America ran hard to partake in another government scheme to buy votes through offering subsidies for the production of ethanol.

Many buildings and plans are now sitting empty and idle, while a growing number are declaring bankruptcy, or are already in the process.

While mainstream media is in love with the industry, and refuses to point out the horrid effects the misguided effort has or will produce, that doesn't stop the realities of it from happening.

Many goofy liberals even tout it as patriotic. In reality it's not patriotic, it's idiotic. Not only that, even though it's increasingly apparent that it's a terrible idea and will have more negative impacts than positive, it's now becoming close to being embraced as a religion by liberals, and they are clinging to it like it's their god, rather than the folly it is.

The weak global and U.S. economy has exposed the weakness of the debacle, and that's the reason so many ethanol projects are shuttering their doors.

The reason it's faltering is that people couldn't care less about it, and are starting to understand the extraordinary costs related to forcing upon them.

A large number of these attempts have partly come from taxpayer money as well as subsidies, and that has in many cases been money thrown down the drain. It's past time for the government to be involved with this stupidity and let the market decide what type of fuel and energy they want to use.

For now, in America we have billions of barrels of oil available for use. We need to drill and retrieve that for our fuel before we do more stupid things that not only cost poor people around the world from soaring food costs, but the damage the pursuit is doing to the environment.

What's worse about all this is many small towns joined the bandwagon, hoping it would produce some jobs for the communities. Now they have empty buildings and ruined dreams as the fantasy of ethanol being some type of savior to the community has come crashing to the ground.

Yet in the midst of the government-induced economic crisis we're now in, they still hold to devastating and disastrous ideas that interfere in markets and destroy the lives of unsuspecting people.

Related Stories:

U.S. Ethanol Subsidies to Keep Food Prices High Everywhere

More Reasons to Drop the Ethanol Nonsense

Ethanol no more than Heavily Subsidized Cash Crop Supported by Powerful Lobby

Corn Farmers in Denial over Taking Responsibility for High Cost of Food

Is U.S. Government Responding Quickly Enough to the Ethanol Disaster?

Tensions Continue Building as Ethanol Continues to Cause Increase in Corn, Food Prices

More Reasons to Free us from the Ethanol Devil

The growing number of reasons to drop ethanol and its government subsidies continues to reveal the utter stupidity of pursuing ethanol as a significant source of renewable fuel.

As people continue to deconstruct the arguments made in favor of ethanol, it's getting clearer and clearer it's an initiative pushed by special interest groups who created fear of foreign energy dependency at the cost of sanity.

While we obviously need to look at real alternatives in the years ahead, we are far from being in some type of serious trouble, as the billions of barrels of oil under American soil, as well as under its oceans attest to.

Environmentalists and opportunist have created this false problem by panicking people into believing we're on the cusp of a worldwide disaster, when in reality there's enough oil to last for decades ... if not longer.

Recent discoveries in Brazilian waters, along with the huge oil deposits in the Canadian oil sands are also proof of the need to slow down and take into account all the effects and unintended consequences that always accompany decisions that are motivated by fear and political expediency.

U.S. Ethanol Subsidies to Keep Food Prices High Everywhere

The outrageous subsidy for corn-based ethanol in the U.S. continues to batter consumers across the world, as even though other commodities have been dropping, food prices are expected to stay the same, and in a number of cases - rise.

For retail food prices in the U.S., they have been growing at a 6 percent rate this year, in contrast to the regular inflation rate at about 2 percent.

With irresponsible politicians and ongoing ignoring of stories like this by the mainstream media, the cost of food items related to corn price increases like chicken, beef and pork are projected to continue rising for the immediate future. The majority of that related to the misguided and terrible idea of subsidizing big corporate corn farmers so it can look like the government is doing something related to energy.

The disaster will continue until the story is continually reported on and the reality of the consequences understood by the public.

The next meat to be affected will be chicken, which so far producers haven't passed on the higher feed costs to consumers, but Bill Roenigk, senior vice president of the National Chicken Council said that's all about to change.

"From a consumer standpoint, more and more of these feed costs are going to be passed on and that means higher prices at the supermarket," said Roenigk.

All this because of the usual pressure from special interest groups with an agenda, as well as a government that continues to pass themselves off as the big daddy of the universe. Until this attitude is reined in, Americans and people around the world will continue to suffer from the continual rise in food prices.

Just like we need to drill for the billions of barrels of oil on American soil or it's coastlines, so we need to stop this outrageous subsidy that is helping no one but the huge corporate corn farmers in America, as well as some landowners cashing in on rising farmland prices.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry Continues Battle Against Ethanol and Rising Feed Prices

Texas Gov. Rick Perry, still concerned about rising feed prices, continues his battle to pressure the federal government to cut ethanol production requirements in half.

Perry rightly notes that federal requirements to increase the ethanol mandate is "no longer a good idea. It's hurting America. It's hurting our families."

The high cost of corn-based ethanol has not only devasted the food industry for human consumption, but also the cost of feeding livestock, which of course also goes directly to consumers' pocketbooks.

There is growing opposition to the ill-advised Renewable Fuel Standard by just about everybody but those taking advantage of subsidies; including the corn growers.

The EPA administrator has the authority to dismiss the requirements after it consults with the Energy and Agriculture secretaries.

Ethanol no more than Heavily Subsidized Cash Crop Supported by Powerful Lobby

So said one writer recently, and I think he's right.

While the usual proliferation of polls - that can no longer be trusted - have been recently thrown out as evidence the American people are behind the corn-based ethanol fiasco, it's only because of the way the poll is worded, as well as marketing campaigns from the dubious, but powerful corn lobby.

The rise in food prices directly related to the overgrowing and overuse of corn, has resulted in less acreage for other crops, and higher costs of seed as well. Some places in the world have dramatic food shortages as a result of this politically motivated, misguided policy.

Another less-than-honest reality is the performance of ethanol, which is far less productive than regular gasoline, and takes much more to make up the lower mileage difference ethanol gets.

As Bob Sommer, writing for Midwest Voices said, "... as long as every politician, Republican or Democrat, who sets foot in Iowa or Nebraska or any corn-producing state thinks the way to solve the energy and climate crises—and get elected in the bargain—is to drink the ethanol Kool-Aid, our future will look dim indeed."

Many of the polls I've seen in support of ethanol have come from ethanol-backed coalitions that have financial stakes in the continued tax-payer subsidy of the alternative fuel. Here's one as an example.

Corn Farmers in Denial over Taking Responsibility for High Cost of Food

In an extremely pathetic assertion, the president of the National Corn Growers Association, Rick Tolman, said this about rising food prices: "bottom line, there's been a very clever marketing disinformation campaign directed at bio fuels for those with deep pockets."

Here's this organization representing huge, corporate farmers, who are subsidized by taxpayer dollars saying other companies with a lot of money are spreading disinformation.

All these big corporate farmers are fighting is losing the tax dollars they're getting to grow corn that is causing a lot of pain in the pocketbook of consumers who don't only pay for it with their taxes, but worse, through higher food prices.

Corn-based ethanol is a debacle that needs to be stopped now. The assertion that cellulosic ethanol is going to be the answer is also smoke in the wind. Not only is it years away in coming, if it ever does, but it's also far more expensive than corn-based ethanol is.

What was thought to be a slam dunk by politicians, subsidy-loving corporate farmers and environmentalists, is now becoming a destructive power against human beings. It simply needs to be stopped and dropped right now!

Texas Governor Rick Perry Seeks U.S. Ethanol Cutback Waiver

Calling the ethanol mandate of the federal government "misguided," Texas Governor Rick Perry solicited the government for a waiver on the renewable fuel standard. He's asking for it to be cut in half for Texas.

"We're diversifying our state's energy portfolio at a rapid rate, but this misguided mandate is significantly affecting Texans' family food bill," Perry said.

He added: "The artificial demand for grain-derived ethanol is devastating the livestock industry in Texas and needlessly creating a negative impact on our state's otherwise strong economy while driving up food prices around the world."

This is what almost always happens when the government enters into the marketplace. Think of the term "good intentions," and then add "unintended consequences."

These are already destroying lives of people across the world, and riots are ensuing and the government of Haiti has already fallen in response to the fallout.

Is U.S. Government Responding Quickly Enough to the Ethanol Disaster?

U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman has finally commented on the ethanol disaster resulting from the corn subsidy's given to farmers to grow it.

He said the U.S. would be "moving away gradually" from corn-based ethanol development, although there is really no alternative, as far as ethanol goes as a biofuel, because cellulosic ethanol is still far too complicated and costly to be a viable alternative.

"The reason that cellulosic fuels like ethanol are not on the market in large volumes is not because we don't know how to make it in commercial quantities," Bodman said. "The production process at present is too complex and too costly, but I am confident that we can find the way forward."

The continuing discovery of oil, along with the new way oil may be produced, offers a much better future for energy than ethanol, or any other option at this time.

Tensions Continue Building as Ethanol Continues to Cause Increase in Corn, Food Prices

The misguided policy of artificially creating a legal level of ethanol biofuel use is reeking havoc across the world as food and meat prices continue to soar in response to the unintended consequences.

That's always the problem when fear and torment are used as tools to push through policies built upon personal agendas.

As Paul Haugens, vice-president for Newedge Trading said, "The food-versus-fuel battle is going to get bigger and it's a political year in the United States so I don't see anyone making any changes (to ethanol policy)."

Listening to the irresponsible comments by U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer Tuesday confirms Haugens is right, as schafer said, "energy is the big issue as we look at those food prices."

No it's not! The subsidizing of growing corn for the pet ethanol project is by far the major reason for the increase in food prices across the world.

The impact of this policy is being called "a crime against humanity" by Jean Ziegler, UN Special Rapporteur for the Right to Food; basing his assertion on the huge increase in food prices across the world.

Riots and protests are spreading globally, and the Haitian government was toppled last week because of when riots move senators in the country to fire the prime minister. It's going to get worse.

This foolish policy needs to be dropped now, as the growing number of oil discoveries show the hoax of Peak Oil is just that. There's no huge rush to get these things pushed through, as billions of barrels of oil have been discovered by Brazil, and new reserves in an area adjacent to the Canadian Sands could hold billions more. This doesn't include the billions awaiting to be taken out of the oil shales in the U.S.

Unfortunately, millions will suffer because of the newest government sponsorship of biofuels which are dubious at best, and deadly at worst.

Ethanol News Weekend Roundup

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Ethanol Being Blamed for Global Food Riots

New York Times columnist praised by Pulitzer board for 'clarity of vision' didn't foresee global food shortages that resulted from the realities of his vision.

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Article off the mark about ethanol

I haven't found one peer-reviewed scientific journal says that corn ethanol is a source of green energy. The only scientist I can imagine saying ethanol is just fine is the one who works for an ethanol company.

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'Closed-Loop' Ethanol Plant Plans On Hold

Plans for Dakota County, Nebraska's multi-million dollar "closed-loop" ethanol plant are "on hold".

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Germany cancels plans to add ethanol to petrol

Amid growing fears that biofuel farming is harming the environment and driving up world food prices, Germany cancelled on Friday plans to mix more ethanol made from plants with petrol.

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Ethanol is an environmental white elephant

I've read with interest the recent articles in the Times Union about ethanol. I was disappointed that you did not point out one fact that should raise much skepticism about the use of this product as a fuel: It produces about twice the carbon dioxide as simply burning the gasoline it replaces.

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Ethanol pollution in Gulf of Mexico

While the search for alternative fuels is in full swing in many countries in order to reduce dependency on pollution causing conventional fuels an ironic situation is emerging where the rush in the United States to produce corn-based ethanol as an alternative fuel will likely worsen pollution in the Gulf of Mexico and expand the annual ‘dead zone.’

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