Corn Ain’t Only for Farm Animals Anymore

Laws in 17 US states enacted during the past four years and expected to be implemented through 2006 require the oil industry to add ethanol, a corn-based substance to gasoline in lieu of methyl tertiary butyl ether or MTBE. The net effect of this change will be increased reliance on imported gasoline this summer and beyond. The federal government is subsidizing what amounts to moonshine-fueled vehicles for 53 cents per gallon of ethanol. That subsidy will cost US taxpayers about $2 billion a year. Critics of this subsidy contend that ethanol actually takes more energy to produce than it creates. The law of unintended consequences would suggest that this subsidy benefits oil companies because it increases the demand for energy! Download here