The Ethanol Papers - Paperturn manuscript - Flipbook - Page 49
charged for collusion in their lead-gasoline venture, they were found guilty of
conspiracy in Federal Court in what became known as the "Great American
Streetcar Scandal.")
However, one thing stood in the way of gasoline's complete dominance as an
engine fuel: Alcohol was better in every way (power, environment, cost,
safety, renewable availability, and no reliance ever on foreign sources).
Considering that America was the only industrialized nation with Prohibition,
there was still plenty of potential competition from alcohol. And, as it was possible that Prohibition could eventually be overturned (which it was), alcohol and
all its advantages would be back to challenge the monopoly of gasoline and its
billions of dollars in profits. There was only one thing to do; fabricate lies about
alcohol.
Nearly all the lies and misconceptions dreamed up by the oil/gasoline lobby to
fight ethanol in the early days are still with us today. The lies are the direct
opposite of the actual truths.
BETRAYING THE AMERICAN PEOPLE
Alright, okay, so the motive was profits. That's not so bad considering that GM
and Standard were public companies, with many American employees, so at
least a small portion of the profits did go to shareholders and workers. That's
what's supposed to happen, isn't it?
Yes, sort of, as long as in doing so our birthright is not given away or sold out
from under us to people who don't care about the United States or their own
country and people (this issue is not just a concern for America, it affects all of
the aforementioned democratic industrialized nations).
At the beginning of the last century, as it became clear
that the domestic oil supply wouldn't last forever, a
worldwide search was on for new deposits. Oil in the
Middle East was not discovered by Iranians or Iraqis or
Kuwaitis or Saudi Arabians; such people didn't even
exist. There was no Iran or Iraq or Kuwait or Saudi Arabia or United Arab Emirates. Those names and geoBritish geologists in Persia graphical designations didn't come into use until well
(Iran)
after a British businessman backed by his government
made the initial discoveries. America's entry (defined as the huge expenditure
of taxpayer dollars and American lives) into World War I secured Britain's oil
