New television ads paid for by the corn lobby are touting ethanol as a way to lower gas prices, but common sense and the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office tell us just the opposite.
This year, in fact, conventional gasoline has been cheaper than ethanol per gallon.
Not only that, but the ethanol lobby conveniently neglects to tell us that you get fewer miles per gallon with corn ethanol blends. Ethanol provides about 30 percent less energy than gasoline, which means you get less bang for your buck. For every two gallons of conventional gasoline you buy, you’d have to pump almost three gallons of ethanol to drive the same number of miles.
By 2017, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office calculates, the widespread E10 (10 percent) ethanol blends of gasoline could cost consumers 13-to-26 cents MORE per gallon than straight gasoline.
In essence, the corn lobby folks want to sell you a fuel that’s more expensive and gets worse mileage.
Sounds like they’re selling snake oil.
The federal mandate that requires refiners to blend corn ethanol into gas is bad for your wallet and a disaster for the environment. It’s time for Congress to step in and reform it.
