Maybe this has been covered. If so, here it comes again. Who are the idiots that voted for ethanol subsidies and would the people in those states PLEASE vote them out of office? Thank you!
Here’s my problem. I fill up with 10% ethanol. I’m taxed to pay for this expensive additive, so hopefully, it does something for me. Nope. My fuel mileage drops by nearly 15%. How is this possible? I don’t know, but it really hacks me off. Go above 10% and my fuel mileage drops by as much as 20%. I’ve tested this repeatedly with my normally high mileage new and computerized vehicle.
Do you have to be a rocket scientist to understand that if your gas mileage drops by more than the fuel you put in, that you are INCREASING our reliance on foreign fuels? And if the pollution saved per gallon of gas used is not notably higher than the 10-20% drop in fuel mileage, you’re still polluting as much or more than before? This aside from the MASSIVE pollution and energy usage caused to create ethanol and the terrible impact it has on food prices.
There is no redeeming value to ethanol production. At all. Unless you like creating busy work for farmers at an incredible cost to everyone else. I get it, conservatives like farmers. But is it not time to stop subsidizing what gets produced and let the market decide what gets produced? Is not our terrible ethanol situation a massive testament to the flaws of well-meaning government involvement in the market? Why do Republicans lose their ideals as soon as a tractor gets involved? Are there ANY Republican politicians that have noticed their fuel mileage going to hell? Do any of them drive themselves any more?
Are we really this idiotic? Do we really deserve the government we have? I don’t remember sinning this badly in my previous life.
Moe Lane
PG DeFreese
Victoria Coates
Daniel Horowitz
Dan Spencer
yes this is a collasal boondoggel we can blame mostly on republicans
kyle8 (Diary) Tuesday, September 1st at 7:38AM EST (link)Mostly on Bob Dole in fact.
“Nothing works like freedom, Nothing succeeds like liberty”
Kyle
They've dragged Dole out from under some rock
Achance (Diary) Tuesday, September 1st at 8:11AM EST (link)to talk about healthcare. He’s on FOX right now talking about being all bipartisan and collegial.
In Vino Veritas
You should see what ethanol does to boats and
Achance (Diary) Tuesday, September 1st at 7:58AM EST (link)older cars. Unless the boat or vehicle was made for the stuff, it eats the gaskets, seals, carburetor floats, and even the fuel lines and fuel tanks in some instances.
Boats and older vehicles have fuel tanks that are vented to free air outside the boat or vehicle. Since gas vapor is heavier than air, it will settle into the bilges of a boat and make a very impressive boom if ignited, so you really want the gas vapor to vent outside your boat. Boats of any size have elaborate venting systems to prevent fuel vapor explosions. Boats usually have quite large fuel tanks, e.g. anywhere from a hundred to several hundred gallons. Ethanol absorbs water; that’s why its most common use prior to this mandate was as a gas line drier and anti-freeze in very cold climates. When ethanol is sitting in a tank that is vented to the free air as is the case with boats and older vehicles, it absorbs a tremendous amount of water from the atmosphere. Nobody has figured out how to make water burn yet, so if ethanol fuel is left sitting for long, say over a winter, the fuel burns very poorly if at all and trying to burn it does ruinous things to your engine(s).
Non-ethanol fuel is still available in many places but it is now a boutique fuel at a much higher cost than the already too expensive E-10 or E-15.
In Vino Veritas