Most ethanol comes from corn and other grains. It faces strong opposition, however, from the auto industry, environmentalists, cattle ranchers, food companies and others. Those groups say that using corn to make ethanol makes animal feed more expensive, raises prices at the grocery store and tears up the land. There have already been several lawsuits filed against the EPA — including one filed by automakers, boat manufacturers and outdoor power equipment manufacturers

“It seems like corn growers and the ethanol industry are the only real winners here,” said Craig Cox of the Environmental Working Group, an advocacy group that opposes use of the fuel.

HEY, REP CHRIS LEE>>>
The Obama administration has remained supportive of the renewable fuel, and the EPA has said a congressional mandate for increased ethanol use can’t be achieved without allowing higher percentage blends. Congress, driven by a broad coalition of members from farm states, has required refiners to blend 36 billion gallons of biofuels, mostly ethanol, into auto fuel by 2022.
Burning ethanol cause toxic air pollutants to be emitted from vehicle tailpipes, especially at higher blend levels like E15. The chemistry is fairly straightforward: ethanol burns hotter than gasoline, causing catalytic converters to break down faster. Cars with broken tailpipe controls are disproportionally responsible for air pollution from vehicles..[Along with many other parts, expensive parts!] So why did the EPA go forward with its decision? Because if you’re going to push a green energy policy in the United States, it really helps if the main beneficiaries are politically powerful farming groups.[Lee was just appointed to a farm.

Lee named Co-Chair of the Congressional Dairy Farmers Caucus

Robbing Peter to pay Paul, Lee votes for ethanol subsidies while at the same time voting for subsidising dairy farmers for the inflated prices of feed….Chris Lee is a progressive liberal who must go…

Not surprisingly, the ethanol lobby neglected to mention the harmful impact ethanol spills, 75,000 gallons of ethanol spilled when a train derailed in Illinois, contaminating soil and ground water and resulting in the largest fish kill in Illinois history. Unlike the oil plaguing the Gulf, ethanol spills cannot be cleaned up. And pollution isn’t the only problem with this dirty fuel. Ethanol plants use four gallons of water to produce each gallon of ethanol. And that figure doesn’t include the copious amount of water needed to irrigate ethanol crops. Instead of providing clean energy, biofuels are simply the latest scheme by dirty fuel interests to glean taxpayer dollars out of Washington. The loud corn ethanol lobby is why federal handouts for corn ethanol represent 76 percent of the subsidies for the entire renewable energy sector, including cleaner options such as wind and solar. These numbers are of course, in addition to the billions of taxpayer dollars that are handed out for corn, agribusiness each year. The oil spill should spur Congress to action to support actual clean energy, rather than continue to bow to dirty fuels that claim to be clean.

NO BURNING OUR FOOD! NO ETHANOL!

“Ethanol is a highly polluting fuel that the EPA has no business promoting.” “The EPA’s own scientific analysis shows that corn ethanol results in more climate-damaging emissions than gasoline. In addition to contributing to dangerous climate changes, the production of corn ethanol takes land away from food production, encroaches on natural ecosystems, and often involves massive inputs of fertilizer that lead to toxic run-off and pollution of water sources.”
Another danger of the EPA’s decision is the inevitability of consumer confusion at the pumps.
“Using more ethanol in engines not configured to run on ethanol could lead to engine damage and increased emissions of toxic air pollutants.”