President Trump didn’t forget that he promised Iowa’s corn growers he be there for them if they helped send him to Washington. He’s told the Environmental Protection Agency to start the process of permitting the year-round sale of E15, a gasoline blend that’s 15 percent ethanol.
This move is not only a massive handout to special-interest groups, but it also imposes serious costs on the average American family. All the while, it provides virtually zero environmental benefit.
This story begins with the Renewable Fuel Standard, which last decade mandated that more and more biofuels be injected into the fuel supply. The quantities were to increase over time, on the expectation that new technologies would produce an abundance of biofuel from cellulose. But such technological advances in biofuel production didn’t materialize. This has meant, under the RFS, an even heavier reliance on corn ethanol. That’s cost Americans dearly at the grocery, at the pump, and in everyday life, as anyone who forgets to drain the fuel out of their lawn mower has learned the hard way.
Ethanol production consumed fully 40 percent of all corn harvested in 2014. This has driven up dramatically the price of anything made from corn or which has corn in its food chain. The wholesale prices of corn-fed beef, pork, and chicken have each increased by at least 200 percent since the RFS was adopted. That inflation reverberates through the distribution chain, driving up food costs for consumers and businesses alike. Chain restaurants, for instance, have watched their food expenses increase by more than $3 billion.
Gasoline with high ethanol content is also not compatible with most American cars. The engines and fuel systems in three out of four cars aren’t made to run on E15. And automakers are warning that the use of E15 could even invalidate car warranties.
“Ford does not support the introduction of E15 into the marketplace for the legacy fleet … Fuel not approved in the owner’s manual is considered misfueling and any damage resulting from misfueling is not covered by the warranty,” the automaker told the EPA.
Congress initially started imposing ethanol requirements both to curb our nation’s reliance on foreign oil and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Ironically, these problems have largely been solved — and not by ethanol, but by the oil and natural gas sector. Reliance on oil imports has been curbed, with the United States now producing more petroleum and natural gas than any other country. And since 2009, American crude production has spiked almost 80 percent, and we’re at the point where we’re once again a net exporter.
As for carbon emissions, they have significantly decreased since the recent new age of fracking in natural gas production. The resulting widespread adoption of natural gas for electricity cut energy-related emissions to their lowest level in 25 years. The addition of ethanol and biodiesel to the fuel supply have had almost nothing to do with it.
Ethanol production has huge environmental costs that far outweigh its paltry emissions benefits. According to a study in the American Journal of Agricultural Economics, companies have been digging up once-pristine prairie habitats and converting them into corn fields to meet ethanol production targets. The United Nations has warned that such conversions “pose risks to ecosystems and biodiversity.”
Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, who is also a key player in this debate, says that Trump’s attitude toward year-round E15 sales has always been “let’s get this done.” We’ll all be the better off if they don’t.
Peter Roff is a former senior political writer for UPI and former U.S. News and World Report contributing editor. Follow him on Twitter @PeterRoff.
