Corn ethanol subsidies skate past budget battle

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Austerity is the new watchword in Washington, but expensive corn ethanol subsidies — long criticized as being economically dubious and even environmentally harmful — are still moving forward.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is slated to being issuing grants and loan guarantees for gas stations to install corn ethanol ready pumps, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack said today.

The pumps would fuel a growing fleet of vehicles that run on E85, an 85%-ethanol blend of gasoline. There are already over 2,335 E85 pumps installed in at U.S. service stations.

Coincidentally, most of the pumps are located in the Midwest, a region that is economically dependent on corn cultivation. Its Congressional delegation is widely known for fighting to maintain corn related subsidies.

Corn ethanol is also supported by the Obama administration, which is seeking to a marked reduction in oil importation within the next decade. That plan requires subsidies for ethanol fuel sources, and its logical that the Midwest’s regional mix would include corn.

Congress spends tens of billions of dollars on corn ethanol subsidies alone, and there have been recent bipartisan efforts to suspend the payments, along with mounting evidence that runoff from increased corn farming harms fragile downstream ecosystems.

Meanwhile, the government continues to encourage its adoption. The EPA’s 2011 Renewable Fuel Standards require 8 percent of all fuel used in the U.S. this year to be from renewable sources, and corn ethanol is the clear winner.

From a policy perspective, cellulose from native perennial grasses like switchgrass is more sustainable, does not affect food prices, and yields better fuel. But anything that would displace corn is anathema to Midwestern Senators who are beholden to the local interests that get them reelected.

Politics trumping science - what else is new?

http://www.smartplanet.com/business/blog/intelligent-energy/corn-ethanol-subsidies-skate-past-budget-battle/5565/

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Austerity is the new watchword in Washington, but expensive corn ethanol subsidies — long criticized as being economically dubious and even environmentally harmful — are still moving forward.

The only people and interests affected by 'austerity' are those that do not have powerful lobbies lobbying on their behalf.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

The only people and interests affected by 'austerity' are those that do not have powerful lobbies lobbying on their behalf.

...which seems to escape the scorn of the angry tea crowd.

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...which seems to escape the scorn of the angry tea crowd.

Lots of teahadists have a problem with ethanol subsidies. That their scorn has no effect just means there are some forces so powerful even teahadists can't stop it.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Lots of teahadists have a problem with ethanol subsidies. That their scorn has no effect just means there are some forces so powerful even teahadists can't stop it.

No angry phone calls to their local Congressmen. No threats of threats of running someone else against them. What else does this angry crowd do besides making threats?

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No angry phone calls to their local Congressmen. No threats of threats of running someone else against them. What else does this angry crowd do besides making threats?

They hunt Kenyans.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

They hunt Kenyans.

[Obama 2012 1,714]

If there's one thing the right and the left in Washingont will not do, it's do anything that pisses off the farmers. You want to talk about lobbying power, there's a huge lobby right there.

Sure, they aren't 'big oil,' but their influence is just as big if not bigger. I mean hell, it's such an overcontrolled market even still to this day. It's why we still pay people not to farm while subsidising the industry at the same time. It's pathetic.

I WISH they would stop subsidising it, then maybe the price of soda would go up, then maybe ethanol would be too expensive to make, etc. Hell, maybe we'd even stop using HFCS and go back to pure cane sugar instead of that ####### we're putting in now.

Corn subsidies have no many negative effects on this society as far as health and welfare goes, it's not even funny.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

We should take The Donald approach to Midwest corn and the ethanol derived from it: Just take it.