| Ethanol is NOT our friend. Using it as a
fuel is an idea foist upon us NOT by environmentalists but by the
big-agriculture lobby, sold to a Congress in a "let's do something even
if it's wrong" (and "sure, we'll do what the lobbyists want us to do")
mode. Not only does ethanol give us poorer miles-per-gallon, it is
harmful to some rubber parts in some vehicles and boats... not to
mention the folly of burning food for fuel. For details, see
below, a letter-to-editor from the November 24 Key West Citizen: |
Ethanol penalizes us and the environment
There's a statewide rip-off going on now that most people don't
seem to notice. Have you checked your gas mileage during the
last six months or so? If you're like most people you'll find
it's down by 5-10 percent. Why?
Ethanol.
Ask a mechanic. I did and he confirmed my suspicion that most
people using ethanol are getting poorer gas mileage. It's an
outrage. Not only did the corn lobby foist this fuel on the
government, not only is using corn for fuel a net energy loss
(look it up), but now government -- in this case Florida
government -- is forcing consumers to use it.
I polled fellow hybrid drivers and they agree.
"I have known for over a year that ethanol is not my friend -- I
am dead set against it. When we drove [north] we filled up three
times going up and three times going back, kept track of all our
miles and expenses. When there was ethanol in the fuel, we got
450 miles on a tank; 500 on straight gas -- that is 10 percent
less. So the gas stations are making 10 percent more from the
gas we have to buy to go the same distance. And this also drives
the price of corn up as well and takes fields away from food
production.
Another friend writes: "I think conventional wisdom says that
the introduction of ethanol reduced fuel efficiency by around 5
percent. Oil companies and big agri-business are laughing all
the way to the bank."
So why aren't the tea-baggers screaming about this? The
government is going to "force" us to have fairly priced health
insurance and "force" poor people to finally have health
insurance instead of going to the emergency room. Oh, that's
terrible. But when Big Agribusiness and Big Chemical (Monsanto)
force us to use a fuel that actually penalizes us and our
environment, well that's OK. It's the American way. Right?
Or is it?
Michael Welber
Marathon |
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