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Maybe we should end the government mandate to burn corn in car engines. Biden seems more pro-ethanol than Trump, I have no idea why.
by ploden 5y ago
Maybe we should end the government mandate to burn corn in car engines. Biden seems more pro-ethanol than Trump, I have no idea why.
- wallacoloo 5y agoi always assumed ethanol production was encouraged by the govt precisely to spur excess production of corn so as to make our food production more robust. i.e. during a bad year of food production, halt ethanol production and redirect that excess of corn back into the food supply; crisis averted. is that not the case?
- COGlory 5y agoIt's because Iowa has a law saying their presidential primary must be first.
- Beached 5y agothe corn used for ethenol is not the same corn used for consumption.
- gruez 5y agoIs it? I get it's not sweet corn (ie. corn on the cob or canned/frozen corn), but it should still be starchy and edible (think tortilla corn).
- dehrmann 5y agoThere was a time when I wasn't a fan of the government subsidizing farmers with policies like that, but the cost of underproduction of food is too high, and it's not a problem markets will solve, so it makes sense for governments to step in and overproduce food.
- beerandt 5y agoSubsides are never such simple handouts. Corn and ag subsidies have as much or more to do with govt "buying" surplus and "selling" it to foreign countries as part of aid packages. And dominating the world grain market, which gives the US even more indirect control over foreign grain growing capabilities, making others reliant on the US. (Bc investing in local production is risky when the US can just flood the market.) Separately, most corn grown for ethanol or animal feed isn't going to directly be rerouted to food supply, unless we approach a full collapse type situation (and even then, it would be more market and regulation collapse and black market emergence than due to policy changes). But keeping those farmers in business and capable of growing table corn next season (with minimal capital investment or changes to practices required) accomplishes roughly the same thing.
- maxerickson 5y agoEthanol is used in gasoline because MTBE is environmentally persistent.
- gs17 5y agoFor anyone else who was unaware: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MTBE_controversy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MTBE_controversy
- adrianN 5y agoHopefully EVs will put a natural end to that madness. We could satisfy much of our primary energy demand simply by replacing energy crops with PV.
- teeray 5y agoEVs are wonderful in certain places: cities, suburbs, etc. Where I sit it’s -10F, and everyone with an EV either can’t start it at all or has to ride in it with no heat—-which can be life-threatening. EVs will reduce our demand, but never eliminate it due to such edge cases.
- adrianN 5y agoI'm pretty sure we don't need millions of hectares for Ethanol to satisfy the demand of the five people living in the frozen tundra.
- ZeroGravitas 5y agohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_ethanol_fuel_mixtures#E10_or_less https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_ethanol_fuel_mixtures#E... In my worldview, a political issue that Biden and the EU agree on, and Trump is less enthusiastic about is probably a good thing. I don't know all the ins and outs, and would generally prefer moving to EVs, but you didn't actually mention why you're not a fan of this policy?
- ben_w 5y agoI don’t have a reference for this, but I seem to recall that corn ethanol in particular produced more CO2 in its production then you saved by burning it. (Might have been a different ethanol. There are many things that can be turned into ethanol, and it matters if some are worth it and others are not).