March 1, 2006
HIGH AS AN ELEPHANT'S EYE?:
A-maize-ing ethanol? Senate is all ears (MARY WISNIEWSKI , 3/01/06, Chicago Sun-Times)
The Illinois Senate passed a bill that would require more ethanol to go into gas tanks, a move some fear could raise gas prices.The Senate voted 52 to 3 Tuesday for a proposal that would require 10 percent of all motor fuels sold in Illinois to be corn-based ethanol beginning in 2008. The bill also provides millions of dollars annually to fund renewable fuels research and plant construction.
Supporters say the bill will encourage economic development, curtail air pollution, and reduce U.S. dependency on foreign oil. It still has to go to the House.
"We will be giving the consumer a choice at the pump," said the bill's sponsor, Deanna Demuzio, a Democrat from rural Carlinville who's up for re-election this year. Illinois is the second-largest ethanol producer.
Opponents fear the bill could lead to shortages and higher prices.
Which are likewise arguments in its favor. Posted by Orrin Judd at March 1, 2006 9:34 AM
Requiring all motor fuels to be composed of 10% ethanol is an odd example of giving consumers choice at the pump.
But never let it be said that politicans have trouble with logical utterances.
Posted by: Dusty at March 1, 2006 10:57 AMoj, The headline is so good, it could be one of yours.
Posted by: erp at March 1, 2006 4:54 PMUS Department of Agriculture subsidies determine how much corn - and thus ethanol - is grown. So, the rest of the people in the US fund the subsidies to Illinois and Iowa through our federal taxes.
I know that's a neat political scheme, at least for Illinois and Iowa. But, is ethanol worth anything as a diluter of gasoline?
Posted by: John J. Coupal at March 1, 2006 5:54 PMMr. Coupal is right: Abolish the price supports now, and let the market decide...
Posted by: Ptah at March 2, 2006 9:49 AM