The Truth Behind the Ethanol Myth

[05Roush]

An article taken from the Historic Vehicle website: http://www.historicvehicle.org/no-ethanol.php

According to its advocates, ethanol is the silver bullet for our agricultural economy, environment and will lead the way to our independence from foreign oil. However, a hard look at the facts points to the opposite conclusion. The facts, many from academic and governmental studies, clearly demonstrate that ethanol is not cost-effective, requires massive subsidies, may actually be worse for the environment than fossil fuels, negatively impacts food and commodity prices and doesn’t enhance energy security. As Cornell University’s David Pimentel noted, “when it all comes down to it, ethanol amounts to nothing more than “subsidized food burning”.

The HVA strongly opposes ethanol mandates and subsidies on the following grounds:

•Impact on Historic Vehicles. There have been no studies on the impact of E15 or higher fuel blends on vehicles older than 1994. In fact, the current E15 ruling only allows sale to 2007 and newer models because the compatibility of higher blends with vehicles older than 2007 is problematic. At higher blend levels, ethanol’s chemical properties cause corrosion, reduce fuel economy, burns hotter and can wreak havoc with fuel mixtures and injections.[1]

•Not Cost-Effective. Ethanol requires large government subsidies and mandates. A gallon of ethanol costs $2.24 to produce compared to 63 cents per gallon for gasoline.[2] Each year $4 billion in government subsidies and mandates are needed to fill this gap in production and the market.

•Uses More Energy Than It Generates. Research by Cornell University scientist David Pimentel shows that 29 percent more energy is required to produce a gallon of ethanol than the energy that actually is contained in ethanol. For each gallon of ethanol, there is a net energy loss of 22,000 BTU (British Thermal Units).[3]

•Negligible Environmental Impacts. Ethanol has a host of negative environmental impacts that wipe out any positive impacts. Studies by the California Air Resources Board show that blending ethanol with gasoline increases nitrogen oxide (NOx) and other smog-forming emissions.[4]

•Could Void Car Warranties. New car manufacturers won’t cover engine problems that result from using fuel blended with more than 10% ethanol.[5]

•Lowers Gas Mileage. Ethanol-blended gasoline decreases gas mileage by 3 to 5 percent at 10 percent ethanol blend and reduces economy by up to 20% percent with with intermediate blends of 15 and 20 percent ethanol – increasing costs to consumers.[6]

•Hurts Livestock & Poultry Farmers. A study by the GAO[7] concluded that higher corn prices generated by ethanol hurts livestock and poultry producers because the cost of feed stock increases (70% of corn grain is fed to livestock and poultry in the U.S.). The National Center for Policy Analysis estimates that ethanol production adds $1 billion annually to the cost of beef production.[8]

•Increases Food Prices. By increasing the cost of feed stock for livestock and poultry producers, ethanol production increases the price to consumers for meat, milk and eggs. According to the Congressional Budget Office, from April 2007 -2008 food prices increased 15% due to the ethanol mandate.[9]

•Doesn’t Create Net New Jobs. The employment effects of ethanol are a wash because, as shown by economist Ralph Brown[10], ethanol production lowers gas tax receipts – reducing jobs in highway construction and maintenance and in sectors adversely affected by higher corn prices. Ethanol doesn’t create net new employment, it simply shifts employment from one sector to another.

•Won’t Improve Energy Security. The notion that more ethanol use will promote energy independence and security is a fantasy. Ethanol can never realistically become a large enough share of our energy to make a difference. Even if we increased ethanol production by 1000 percent it would only account for one percent of total energy consumption in the U.S. according to University of South Dakota agricultural economist Ralph Brown. If all cars in the U.S. were fueled with 100 percent ethanol, corn production would cover 97 percent of U.S. land area.[11] In addition, reducing our oil imports will not reduce our vulnerability to oil price swings because oil prices are set in the world market, not domestically.

And the list goes on and on. The more you read about ethanol, the more you can agree with the statement by the president of the Agribusiness Council, Nicholas Hollis, that “Ethanol is the largest scam in our nation’s history.”[12]

[1] Department of Energy, “Effects Of Intermediate Ethanol Blends On Legacy Vehicles And Small Non-Road Engines, Report 1 – Updated” (2009), NREL/TP-540-43543 ORNL/TM-2008/117
[2] David Pimentel, “Ethanol Fuels: Energy Balance, Economics, and Environmental Impacts are Negative,” Natural Resources Research (June 2003)
[3] ibid
[4] State of California Air Resources Board, “Comparison of the Effects on a Fully-Complying Gasoline Blend on Exhaust and Evaporative Emissions” (November 1998)
[5] http://www.newspressnow.com/news/201...-novelty-here/
[6] Bechtold R, Thomas JF, Huff SP, Szybist JP, Theiss TJ, West BH, et al. 2007. Technical Issues Associated with the Use of Intermediate Ethanol Blends (>E10) in the U.S. Legacy Fleet: Assessment of Prior Studies. Oak Ridge National Laboratory ORNL/TM-2007/37. Available: http://www.osti.gov/bridge//product....page=0&osti_id... [accessed January 19, 2009]
[7] General Accounting Office, “Effects of the Alcohol Fuels Tax Incentives,” Report to the Chairman, Committee on Ways and Means, House of Representatives (March 1997): http://www.gao.gov/archive/1997/gg97041.pdf
[8] National Center for Policy Analysis, Ethanol Subsidies: Idea House (September 2002): http://www.ncpa.org/pd/ag/ag6.html
[9] http://www.cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=10057
[10] Ralph Brown, “OPEC vs Ethanol,” PowerPoint presentation: http://www.usd.edu/~rbrown/ethanol.ppt
[11] ibid
[12] Nicholas Hollis, “Ethanol is the Largest Scam in Our Nation’s History,” Agribusiness Examiner (June 2003): http://www.mindfully.org/Air/2003/Et...Scam6jun03.htm

[OBXCharterCaptain]

Let me see if I got what you posted:

Ethanol is a Government Program that costs us more money than it's worth and does us no good.

[that hot rod lincoln]

Originally Posted by OBXCharterCaptain

Let me see if I got what you posted:

Ethanol is a Government Program that costs us more money than it's worth and does us no good.

You left out that it may cause damage

[05Roush]

Originally Posted by that hot rod lincoln

You left out that it may cause damage

This is the part that concerns me most. The Gov't will always waste money but what is this stuff doing to our engines?

[OBX TA]

That was a really good article, I enjoyed it in depth. Nothing was mentioned about the boat fuel. If you leave the ethanol fuel in fuel tanks for too long, the alcohol tends to separate and becomes unusable. Such as when storing a boat over winter. I've heard of the horror stories, having to drain the fuel tank, carb floats etc.

Well what about our classic cars that we only drive occasionally? What happens to the gas after it goes "stale"? My TA isn't driven much nowadays and it'll go months before it sees any fresh gas in the tanks.

I wonder if any of our members have seen their gas go stale and cause issues?

//Bob

[05Roush]

Read the summary of the Bill online here, or below.

URGENT LEGISLATIVE ALERT

North Carolina Bill to Inform Consumers of Ethanol Content in Gasoline Signed into Law

Legislation (H.B. 187) requiring ethanol content labels on all pumps that dispense ethanol-blended gasoline has been signed into law by North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue. The new law requires these labels to indicate that the gasoline contains 10% or less ethanol or greater than 10% ethanol. Previously, retailers operating pumps dispensing ethanol-blended gasoline were not required to post labels regarding ethanol content. The new law also includes a provision allowing retailers to post labels that include more detailed information than required.

Ethanol increases water formation in the fuel system, especially when the vehicle sits over a period of time. Under these conditions, formic acid is created which corrodes metals, plastics and rubber. This can lead to engine/parts failures and, potentially, safety hazards. Many products on the market, including older cars, special interest collector vehicles and historic vehicles, use materials that are incompatible with ethanol. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has been urged by SAN and other organizations to create national labeling requirements for ethanol blended gasoline that are placed as close as possible to the pump’s product selection mechanism, but since such requirements are not currently in place, vehicle owners must rely on state labeling requirements for information about the gasoline they use in their vehicles.

SAN applauds the actions of the North Carolina legislature and Governor in enacting this important piece of legislation and maintains that auto enthusiasts have a right to know what blend of ethanol is going into their collector cars.