The Ethanol Papers - Paperturn manuscript - Flipbook - Page 365
Paid-critics of ethanol will often use oblique elements of the total ethanol production process to arrive at the net conclusion that ethanol is a "dirtier" fuel than
gasoline. However, if the same methodology of including secondary considerations related to gasoline production was used to reveal the true extent of gasoline's negative impact on the environment it would show a horrifying comparison between ethanol and gasoline. Least among the secondary considerations
of gasoline production is all the fuel required to militarily defend and protect the
oil industry - this includes the production of the vast amount of military materiel
needed and expended, not to mention the thousands of lives lost every year.
By the way, to date, not one American serviceman has been killed while defending domestic ethanol production.
Ethanol's value as a "gateway" to more renewable fuels is incalculable. Its mere
presence demonstrates that a substance other than gasoline or diesel can be
used to power an engine. Regardless of how negative a critic can try to paint
ethanol, we see that there is a solution to the myriad problems and concerns
related to petroleum oil; including issues of long-term, uninterrupted availability.
On a tangible level, acceptance of crop-based ethanol has led to breakthroughs
and advancements in the development of cellulosic ethanol, as well as methanol and methane fuels.
Studies released in 2009 and 2012 by Professors Xiaodong Du and Dermot J.
Hayes* showed that ethanol use did reduce gasoline prices. Despite claims of
rebuttal by Professors Christopher Knittel and Aaron Smith, Professor Hayes
successfully defended the findings of his and Du's work. Knittel subsequently
acknowledged "That ethanol most likely reduced gasoline prices," although he
stated that the reduction was less than claimed by Hayes and Du.
However, a reduction is a reduction, and in a world where a three-cent reduction
in the price of gasoline is considered national news, I can't see how Debbie
Carlson is able to categorically deny that ethanol has not reduced the overall
price of gasoline. In addition, all the studies, claims, and counter-claims by Professors Du, Hayes, Knittel, and Smith were concluded before Carlson wrote her
story. This means that if Carlson was out to publish an objective story about
ethanol that this information was available to her. Instead, it’s clear that her
story was not meant to be objective, it was meant to be a bash-ethanol-at-allcosts story so that she could receive some type of financial reward from the oil
industry.
Moreover, let's say that ethanol provides no reduction in the cost of filling your
fuel tank. Let's say that the entire reason for replacing gasoline with ethanol is
