Ethanol. Right. Now.

Senator Grassley asks Grocery Manufacturers to get honest about corn prices

U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) took it to the Grocery Manufacturers Association in a letter yesterday, asking them why they haven't passed along the savings to consumers now that corn prices have gone down.  Earlier this year GMA blamed ethanol and high corn prices as the reason they had to raise food prices, though today corn and other grain prices have fallen 50% from their spring highs.

"This indicates that while food processors were willing and able to immediately blame ethanol and rising corn prices for having to increase retail food prices, they won't be extending the same courtesy by lowering those prices with lower corn and oil prices," Grassley states in his Oct. 28 letter.

Now that grain and energy prices are down by half, "surely we can expect that the grocery manufacturers will pass on these savings to American consumers who are suffering from economic hardship," Grassley says.

Read his entire letter here: http://blog.foodpricetruth.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/grassley-letter-to-gma2.pdf

Reuters, Chicago Tribune report on high grocery prices despite low corn prices

The grocers (GMA) and Big Oil have financed a lot of unfriendly ethanol news headlines this year, so their PR war rooms must be working overtime to try and beat back this fair and balanced Reuters story that broke recently.

Sam Nelson, a Reuters writer, indicates in his article that "Heavy demand for corn from ethanol makers was seen as a key driver of corn futures to record highs in June, but since then the sharp decline of corn shows that belief was mistaken."

"Corn is down 50 percent from its high in June, even as the amount of grain used to produce renewable fuel in the U.S. remained the same."

So why aren't food prices lower now that corn prices have fallen from nearly $8 per bushel to $3.50?

According to a recent Chicago Tribune article, "Packaged goods-makers will do all they can to keep consumer prices high, even though their costs for wheat, corn, and other raw materials is falling."

So corn prices are down but food prices will remain high because GMA wants to profit at the expense of U.S. working families.

Link to Reuters article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/feedarticle/7914436

Posted by BJ, 10/27/08

New "Ethanol Factor" online calculator shows ethanol's benefits

Today the American Coalition for Ethanol is unveiling a new online interactive calculator which helps demonstrate how choosing ethanol blends at the pump is resulting in cleaner emissions, reduced dependence on oil, and real savings for consumer pocketbooks. You can check it out at www.ethanolfactor.org.

Some of the comments we've gotten include "I always knew that ethanol saved you money, but until using the calculator I didn't realize how much money and barrels of oil would be saved. It sure was an eye opener. Most of our stations in the Southeast currently have 10 percent ethanol in their pumps. I can't wait until they start having E85 pumps so we can save even more." says Dave Howard of Trackmobile, Inc. in Atlanta, Georgia.

Becky Frankenbach of the Missouri Corn Merchandising Council says, "ACE's new fuel savings calculator is a great way to drive home the benefits of ethanol. In just a few minutes, I learned that I was eliminating the need to import 20.218 barrels of foreign oil by burning E85 and husband was removing demand for 6.786 barrels by using an E10 blend."

See how much you can save by going to www.ethanolfactor.org.

Posted by CB, 10/23/08

Savings at the pump from ethanol will top $1 billion this year -- billion with a "b"

With a gallon of ethanol selling for about a dollar less than a gallon of gasoline today, the savings for American consumers are really going to add up this year - to more than $1 billion, to be exact. 

About 70% of America's gasoline contains some ethanol right now.  If every gallon of America's gasoline contained 10% ethanol, the national savings would increase to around $1.6 billion annually.  If every gallon was E15, the national savings would grow to $2.2 billion.

These numbers reflect the positive blending economics of ethanol at the pump, not to mention all the dollars staying in America instead of being shipped overseas to purchase oil or gas.  For family budgets and for America's budget, ethanol is a win-win.

Posted by KB, 10/16/08

Ethanol blender pump locations now number 84

Some new sites have been posted to the American Coalition for Ethanol's national blender pump map, bringing the total now to 84. Pumps in Wooster and in Columbiana, Ohio and in Greenville, Michigan are now on the map. States with blender pumps today are South Dakota, Minnesota, Kansas, Iowa, Michigan, Ohio, North Dakota, and Wisconsin.  Chuck Beck of the ACE staff should be notified of any new locations: cbeck@ethanol.org.

 

Gas stations that install blender pumps can offer their customers new choices at the pump - like E20, E30, E40, or E50 - made possible by two underground tanks that mix gasoline and E85 into varying percentages chosen by the motorist.  These fuels above 10% ethanol are still only for Flexible Fuel Vehicles, though the data is mounting to show that fuels beyond E10 can be used in standard vehicles.

Check out the Google blender pump map here: http://www.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=114795702092705781866.0004506e7cf3ae206a7c0&ll=38.959409,-97.119141&spn=29.323509,54.140625&z=4

National Labs get results back from mid-range blend testing

As part of yesterday's "National Biofuels Action Plan" the DOE announced the results of an interim study on the successful use of mid-range ethanol blends in vehicles and in small engines.  The research was done at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

The scientific body of evidence is mounting that ethanol blends beyond 10% can indeed be used in standard (non-flex-fuel) engines.  The study found no showstoppers - no malfunction indicator lights, no emissions or catalyst temperature issues, no noticeable driveability concerns.

Read the study here on Ethanol.org's "higher blends" web page

Posted by KB, 10/7/08

USDA-DOE affirm mid-range ethanol blends

 

Big news for ethanol today out of USDA-DOE as the agencies' "National Biofuels Action Plan" says that mid-range ethanol blends like E12, E15, and E20 "represent a critical pathway" to meet the President's Twenty in Ten goal (reducing petroleum-based gasoline usage by 20% over the next 10 years).

It's true -- ethanol is here today and making an important contribution as a homegrown, clean, and cost-effective alternative to oil.  Moving beyond E10 to mid-range blends such as E12, E15, or E20 only accelerates the benefits to American motorists and the nation's economy.

 

We encourage the federal government to move forward aggressively with any additional testing needed for the approval of mid-range blends of ethanol in gasoline.

 

Read the USDA-DOE National Biofuels Action Plan here: http://www1.eere.energy.gov/biomass/pdfs/nbap.pdf

 

Posted by BJ, 10/7/08

Hurricane Ike spills a half million gallons of crude

The Associated Press has reported on the "widespread" environmental damage that came as a result of Hurricane Ike.  They are estimating that at least a half a million gallons of crude oil have spilled in to the Gulf of Mexico and in to the marshes, bays, and bayous of Louisiana and Texas .  Read the article here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27034445/. 

Posted by KB, 10/6/08

Is Tesoro really concerned about pollution?

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) recently issued standards that will lead to refiners putting 10% ethanol in their gasoline, up from 5.7% in most of the state.  As a result, one of the nation’s largest oil companies – Tesoro – is suddenly so concerned about pollution and food costs that they’ve filed as lawsuit against CARB, saying they don’t know if  CARB gave enough consideration to how that change might impact air quality and food price.

 

Really, Tesoro? Really?  A representative of the oil industry – the industry that invented pollution – is now suddenly concerned that using less of their filthy fuel will cause more air quality problems?  The industry responsible for the overwhelming majority of food cost increases (and the overwhelming majority of all inflation, for that matter) is suddenly worried about how much people are spending at the grocery store? 

 

You’re kidding, Tesoro… right?  Someone in your San Antonio office there wrote this up as a joke, and it accidently got filed in the courthouse… right?  If this lawsuit were an actual suit, it wouldn’t have enough fabric to make a Speedo.

 

Tesoro spokespeople say they expect a ruling in 30 to 60 days.  It should take 30 to 60 seconds – unless CARB wants to evaluate how much impact Tesoro’s oil and gas and diesel fuel is having on air quality and food prices.  Then maybe they would rule that Tesoro is right, and that 10% ethanol isn’t the right number…  It isn’t nearly enough.

 

Posted by RL, 10/3/08

Ethanol is part of the growth in "green" jobs

The U.S. Conference of Mayors released a report today saying that the transition to renewable energies and efficiencies could produce more than 4 million new "green" jobs in the U.S. in the next 30 years, saying it could be the fastest growing segment of the U.S. economy over the next several decades.  The report predicts that the biggest job gain will be in the area of alternative transportation fuels like ethanol. Ethanol is a growing part of the nation's fuel supply, and it looks like ethanol could also go a long way toward fueling the nation's economy as well.

 

The report is found at http://www.usmayors.org/pressreleases/uploads/GreenJobsReport.pdf