Ethanol Mandate

Congress by a wide margin approved the first increase in automobile fuel economy in 32 years Tuesday, and President Bush has signaled he will accept the mandates on the auto industry.

The energy bill, boosting mileage by 40 percent to 35 miles per gallon, passed the House 314-100 and now goes to the White House, following the Senate's approved last week.

In a dramatic shift to spur increased demand for nonfossil fuels, the bill also requires a six-fold increase in ethanol use to 36 billion gallons a year by 2022, a boon to farmers. And it requires new energy efficiency standards for an array of appliances, lighting and commercial and government buildings.

  AP

I remember being in a high school auditorium presentation of what the future of technology looked like. We were told at that time - and that was a loooooong time ago - that they currently had the capability of making automobile engines that could get 100 mpg. And now congress wants to mandate fuel economy for 35. Perhaps because the auto manufacturers are already offering those, so nobody has to lose any contribution money.

I’ll wait here while you go and find a farmer and ask him how much his equipment costs. Remember, it uses petroleum products to run – ask him how many miles to the gallon for kicks (and currently, there aren’t any ethanol combines in production that I know of). He’ll be thinking of resale value and/or conversion costs if he has to replace his fuel-guzzling combine which cost him about as much or more than his house did. And ask him how much fertilizer, herbicides and other inputs he will be using on his crops, and then ask a chemical manufacturer how much petroleum is used in production of those chemicals.

There’s farm land sitting fallow with farmers collecting government handouts to keep it that way, so the space to grow the crops may not be a big issue. I don’t know. But, who is going to pay for the conversion of your farmer friend’s farming equipment to ethanol power? Can it be done? And the conversion of the petroleum-using processes in the manufacturing, delivery and related costs of producing the crop chemicals? How about a substitute for the petroleum that is used as a raw ingredient?

Maybe by 2022, eh? Just asking.