New rules for ethanol in gasoline

[California]

Slightly political but not meant to be...

I'm sure our wonderful President and the powers to be don't mow their own lawns or blow their own snow or trim their own trees. That is all below them. They hire it out I'm pretty sure so they really don't care. Just change the rules of engagement because it don't directly impact them anyway.

That's a way-oversimplified view of government.

Start:
1) Pressure put on Congress, not the president, from the public or industry lobbyists - "Do Something!!! We can't sell all this corn!!"

2) Budget some agency, maybe EPA, to look into it.

3) Examine the topic. EPA trained professionals or if none, hire consultants. Hopefully, neutral but don't count on it.

4) EPA or somebody proposes relevant legislation. This is where the 'Stakeholders' (corn, fertilizer, transportation, farm equipment interests in this case), maybe sometimes the public, lobby Congress to make the result come out to their benefit. Sometimes the original goal is abandoned and redirected to the benefit of only the Stakeholders. Aircraft carriers for the shipbuilders, not because the military requested another?

5) Legislation worked out in Congress, resulting from all the lobbying, finally gets sent to the President for signature or veto. He/she didn't initiate the process, just wraps it up. And takes the heat for it, from some media. And some people pile on.

Yeah, PolSci undergrad degree here. I wanted to know how things work.

It was discouraging.

 

[5030]

Trying to keep it simple (KISS) and not jump off the political cliff which causes a thread to get locked on this site.

 

[MossRoad]

No one is forcing anyone to use E15. E10 will still be available in those places.

The whole thing is a dog whistle.

 

[2manyrocks]

Ran into a repair guy at the one store near us that still sells 100% gas. He said they keep a stock of replacement fuel caps for a particular chain saw brand because ethanol swells the caps and the locals that try to burn ethanol in them can't get the caps off when they swell.

 

[turbo36]

Trying to keep it simple (KISS) and not jump off the political cliff which causes a thread to get locked on this site.

So if you don’t want it to go political, why do you take it there?

 

[Torvy]

Some places may offer both E10 and E15. But smaller stations may not be able to carry so many mixtures.

Study the history of modern ethanol use. It was not driven by agriculture, it was driven by the 1970s oil crisis. Corn was already in high demand as people (and to a larger extent) animal food. Subsidies exist for farm products because people like to eat.

 

[5030]

So if you don’t want it to go political, why do you take it there?

Good question and I see our fearless leader deleted it anyway. No issue with me.

 

[deserteagle71]

No one is forcing anyone to use E15. E10 will still be available in those places.

The whole thing is a dog whistle.

NOT!

That's been a subject of discussion in northern Nevada for a couple months. All of our gasoline comes from one refinery in northern California. Gasoline suppliers have stated they will offer one or the other; if E15 is what the government recommends then all the pumps will go to E15. They will not have pumps at a station that offer regular in either E10 or E15.

 

[cqaigy2]

NOT!

That's been a subject of discussion in northern Nevada for a couple months. All of our gasoline comes from one refinery in northern California. Gasoline suppliers have stated they will offer one or the other; if E15 is what the government recommends then all the pumps will go to E15. They will not have pumps at a station that offer regula

One more time incase you missed it before. Gov not telling you to sell E15, they are letting stations sell E15 in non-winter months. So the gov is getting out of telling the station they can only sell E15 during the winter and have to switch back to E10, it's up to the station.

 

[ruffdog]

Before ethanol, the oil companies were using MTBE as a fuel oxygenator. In 2006 it was banned for health and environmental reasons. Alcohol also can be used as an oxygenator and it is WAY safer and much easier to clean up in case a spill happens. Also, we can make it from corn that helps farmers instead of depending on a chemical company (MTBE).

Engines that run fuel with an oxygenator tend to run hotter, hence the warning on running it in air-cooled engines.