The U.S. may be hitting its ethanol limit. So EPA wants to relax its biofuels goals.

[Jesus Malverde]

When it comes to ethanol, the United States may have reached its limit — at least for now.

Back in 2007, Congress passed a law that would require the nation to use more and more ethanol and other biofuels each year. But for reasons of chemistry and economics, those targets are becoming increasingly difficult to fulfill.

That helps explain why, on Friday, the Environmental Protection Agency took the unusual step of proposing to cut its biofuels targets for next year. The agency will require gasoline refiners to use just 15.2 billion gallons of biofuels in 2014 — down from 16.55 billion gallons this year. The new target is 14 percent lower than the original goal envisioned by Congress.

The EPA's move is a victory for gasoline refineries, which have long argued that the original targets were unworkable. And it's a fairly big setback for the biofuels industry, at least for the time being.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/11/15/the-u-s-is-hitting-its-ethanol-limit-so-the-epa-will-weaken-its-biofuels-rules/

[Morganfleeman]

1. We shouldn't be putting corn in our autos

Ethanol is a massive boondoggle that is incredibly inefficient and benefits primarily the corn industry at the expensive of higher food prices.

We should be looking at things like algae based biofuels.

[Jesus Malverde]

2. Prairies Vanish in the U.S. Push for Green Energy

America's green energy policy is fueling an expansion of the Corn Belt across the Dakotas and Nebraska. The policy requires oil companies to blend billions of gallons of corn ethanol into their gasoline, and farmers are transforming the Great Plains into cornfields. In 2010, fuel became the No. 1 use for corn in America.

Robert Malsam nearly went broke in the 1980s when corn was cheap. So now that prices are high and he can finally make a profit, he's not about to apologize for ripping up prairieland to plant corn.

Across the Dakotas and Nebraska, more than 1 million acres of the Great Plains are giving way to cornfields as farmers transform the wild expanse that once served as the backdrop for American pioneers.

This expansion of the Corn Belt is fueled in part by America's green energy policy, which requires oil companies to blend billions of gallons of corn ethanol into their gasoline. In 2010, fuel became the No. 1 use for corn in America, a title it held in 2011 and 2012 and narrowly lost this year. That helps keep prices high.

"It's not hard to do the math there as to what's profitable to have," Malsam said. "I think an ethanol plant is a farmer's friend."

http://www.sci-tech-today.com/story.xhtml?story_id=033001UMR3UC

[LuvNewcastle]

3. I try to avoid using it whenever I can.

There ought to be at least one gas pump with no ethanol at every station. The shit is bad for motors and we shouldn't be forced to use it.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

5. You should find this comment from the WaPo website of great interest.

MikeSoja wrote:
11/16/2013 1:34 AM EST

"Cars and fuel pumps in the United States can easily handle gasoline with 10 percent ethanol or less, a blend known as "E10.""

Any amount of ethanol is corrosive to engines. Alcohol in gas tends to absorb more water than just plain gas, and water is bad for engines, though ethanol is corrosive in its own right. For marine engines, it's a real problem. For many small motors, as in lawn mowers, weed whackers, chain saws, pressure washers, and wood splitters, all of which I use, use of ethanol gas is sternly advised against. My 2003 pick up truck gets worse gas mileage with ethanol and has also on occasion throws engine error codes when running with ethanol. I try not to buy the stuff. Fortunately, where I live, the three closest stations offer 100% gas.

When traveling, I use one of the smart phone apps available via the Pure Gas website...

http://pure-gas.org/

Crowd sourced, coast to coast.

[FarCenter]

4. As gasoline usage drops due to better mileage, less ethanol will be needed for the 10% blend

The decrease in gasoline use is better than would be more use of ethanol.

A calorie of ethanol energy requires almost a calorie of fossil fuel to be used for tillage, fertilizer production, pesticides, cultivation, harvesting, transport of the grain, milling, fermentation, distillation, and transportation of the ethanol to the refineries.

Corn ethanol is a very poor source of energy, even aside from the environmental harm of putting more acres into industrial scale corn production.

I was in Western Michigan recently, and heard stories about large absentee landowners buying up vineyards and orchards and turning them into corn fields.