It’s quite fun, for given values of “fun:”
- The US Government subsidizes the production of corn-based ethanol, as a substitute/supplement for gasoline.
- To maintain a demand, the US Government pushes for standard gasoline mixtures containing 10% ethanol. This will supposedly decrease pollution and increase efficiency.
- Corn is then turned into ethanol wholesale.
- Corn-based food prices rise. That includes critters that eat corn, by the way.
- This results in higher food prices domestically. This decreases efficiency.
- This also results in more food insecurity globally.
- Corn-based ethanol, being subsidized, crowds out other ethanol fuels. If this is confusing: please, reference Gresham’s Law, and generalize from its specific example.
- Ethanol, being less energy efficient than gasoline – which is why we weren’t using it to begin with – ends up causing effective inflation, as it costs more to go the same distance in your car. This also increases pollution.
- In short, 10% ethanol gasoline results in more pollution and less efficiency.
- Therefore, the only solution… is to raise the amount of ethanol in gasoline to 15%.
You have to realize, of course, that darn few DC bureaucrats actually drive anywhere. And the ones that do rarely pump their own gas.
Moe Lane (crosspost)
It struck me the other day that the reason Pepsi is keeping the various “throwback” mixes around is that sugar and corn syrup may just be around the same price right now.
Moe, you missed a couple points:
Every piece of equipment for fuel handling, from pumps to cars, had to be redesigned for 10% ethanol. Unfortunately, when upping the percentage to 15%, all the tests showed that seals, hoses, etc. that would handle 10% would NOT handle 15%. Decision: Do it anyway.
Suppliers can’t afford to keep 2 different sets of fuel tanks, pumps, etc. so they will have to transition everything to 15% capable.
There is any amount of equipment (mowers, tractors, etc.) that will not handle even 10% alcohol.