The Ethanol Papers - Paperturn manuscript - Flipbook - Page 424
In other words, by simple arithmetic, if you use one gallon of ethanol in place of
one gallon of gasoline then it means that you need less petroleum oil. So regardless of how much oil importation has changed, ethanol has played a role in
reducing the need for foreign oil because if we had enough domestic oil we
wouldn't have to import so much or any.
Additionally, you only attribute lower oil imports to "an explosion in shale exploration," but the truth is different. As the U.S. Energy Information Administration
has pointed out:
"There is no single explanation for the decline in U.S. oil import dependence since 2005. Rather, the trend results from a variety of factors. Chief
among those is a significant contraction in consumption...and reflects factors such as changes in efficiency and consumer behavior as well as patterns of economic growth...Shifts in supply patterns, including increases
in domestic biofuels production, NGL output and refinery gain, also
played an important role in moderating import dependence. U.S. ethanol
net inputs...helping to displace traditional hydrocarbon fuels and so reducing petroleum import needs."
David, you then write that between 2008 and 2014 "Domestic production increased by more than 3.5 million barrels a day. Meanwhile, ethanol production
increased by a negligible 328,500 barrels daily over that same period -- comparatively, a drop in the bucket." In writing this, you intimate that ethanol only
increased by such a small number because of low demand and consumer interest. This is another gross misstatement of truth. Ethanol, because it's confined by government restriction to 10% in regular gasoline options, has had a
strict limitation on its growth. If E15, E20, E30 and other ethanol-gasoline blends
weren't restricted from sale at filling stations then ethanol production and use
would have had equal "explosive" growth.
But, what I find peculiar - almost funny - is that you fail to realize that if you take
into account the decline in automobile fuel consumption due to driving habits as
well as the increase in engine efficiency in late-model vehicles, that there has
still been an increase in ethanol production. Consequently, this means there
has been considerable growth in ethanol acceptance. And while the increase
may be small in proportion to the shift in where crude comes from, it is rather
enormous compared to the drop in gasoline and diesel fuel used by passenger
vehicles. In neglecting to understand and take all this into account you are proving yourself to be just a "tool" used by the oil industry, and by "tool" I mean the
street definition of the term.
