12-3 IAN Wyatt on Ethanol

12-3 IAN Wyatt on Ethanol

David Sparks Ph.D.
David Sparks Ph.D.
The Ethanol Mandate: Don't Mend It, End It.

The Heritage Foundation says: "Praised as a policy that would reduce dependence on oil and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), which requires refineries to blend ethanol into gasoline, has been fraught with unintended consequences. The RFS mandates the use of an inefficient fuel, drives up food prices, and causes adverse environmental effects. The 2012 drought and problems meeting the quotas in the RFS have put the program under the political microscope." Executive Director of the Idaho Cattlemen's Association, Wyatt Prescott, could not agree more: "The numbers behind that ethanol mandate actually became so unworkable, that now the EPA is soon expected to reduce the amount of ethanol required to be added to the gasoline supply and they did. They issued a proposal to reduce ethanol volume obligation which is the first time that this has happened since the whole conversation came about about using corn-based ethanol in the gasoline supply. Now, EPA is proposing to reduce this RVO for conventional ethanol by 1.39,000,000,000 gallons. We are obviously going to be making comments saying that yes, it is a great idea to reduce that volume obligation but more importantly, why don't you take the obligation all the way out of there and allow the free market to work like it should.

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