Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Big E and his ugly, red-headed step-brother


It’s obvious by now that the ethanol industry is like Big Tobacco in reverse. Both have very strong lobbies that assist greatly in keeping their respective industries alive and both burn stuff that is ultimately bad for your health but that is where the similarities end.

Big Ethanol is universally loved by the political establishment where Big Tobacco is reviled. Big Ethanol is an open money pit into which tax dollars are shoveled with no foreseeable return on investment as opposed to Big Tobacco which is taxed relentlessly but only to a degree as the politicians are addicted to its proven tax revenue track record.

Big Ethanol lumbers along receiving more legislative breaks, the more apparent it becomes that ethanol is further and further off from being a viable stand-alone energy source. And Big Tobacco staggers forward amid increasing legislative and regulatory burdens.

On Tuesday, the Obama Administration announced plans via 3 cabinet members that would shield ethanol producers from the credit crisis, work with the same to reduce the usage of natural gas and coal in ethanol production and “nudge” (article’s word) the auto industry towards the production of vehicles that can run on a 85/15 blend without springing leaks all over the damn place.

As far as using less of the bad stuff to produce more of the good stuff, here’s the paragraph that really tickled us:

Scientists differ on the degree to which use of ethanol from corn cuts carbon emissions, if at all. Ms. Jackson, the E.P.A. administrator, said the reduction amounted to about 16 percent, but she said that for both ethanol and biodiesel, the “carbon footprint” could be reduced further if the energy needed to create the fuels were derived from burning plants instead of fossil fuels.

You got that, right? In order to produce more ethanol we need more ethanol to burn in which to produce it.

Only in the Bizarro World that is Big Ethanol can a cabinet-level official say that with a straight face and a newspaper report it with seemingly the same countenance.

Oh, to be a favored child of the Government.

3 comments:

K T Cat said...

Over at Instapundit, Glenn had a great comment about Israel that could be analogized here. If Israel wants to be favored by the Obama Administration, it should start acting more like Iran and North Korea.

Imagine nuclear Israel going all wacky and unpredictable. Way cool! There's be visits from her Hillaryness and offers of cash in no time at all.

Meanwhile, to your point, all you need to do is embrace diversity, global warming and income redistribution. If you do that, then golden days are ahead!

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