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U.S. DOE and EPA are Screwing America (And No One Cares - Do You?) +VIDEO


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Why a Good Ethanol Education Program is Needed Now, More Than Ever


By Marc J. Rauch
Exec. Vice President/Co-Publisher
Author of THE ETHANOL PAPERS
THE AUTO CHANNEL


Recently, I came across a video interview produced by "The Handyguys" in 2013. The Handyguys are Brian and Paul who provide various do-it-yourself tips. The topic of this particular video was ethanol fuel, and the person being interviewed was Daniel R. Simmons, Director of Regulatory and State Affairs for the Institute of Energy Research. The video interview can be watched by CLICKING HERE.

As you will learn by watching the video and reading the landing webpage, the information is thoroughly anti-ethanol. Among the specific negative points (myths) addressed by the three guys are the energy-content comparisons between gasoline and ethanol, MPG comparisons, the damage that ethanol causes to engines, and the horrendous food vs. fuel issue. The text on the webpage recommends using two aftermarket products to counteract the evils of ethanol.

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Marc Rauch
I have to say that I was flabbergasted by the absolute lack of ethanol knowledge exhibited by Daniel Simmons. As I mentioned above, Daniel Simmons was part of the organization known as Institute for Energy Research, an entity founded and presided over by author and energy expert Robert Bradley, Jr. If you have read any of my editorials and essays over the last several years you may recognize Rob Bradley's name as an energy expert I corresponded with (in 2016). The outcome of that exchange was that Rob admitted that he was not as well versed as he should be and he asked me to write a thesis for him that he would publish on his other website (MasterResource.org) and include it from that point forward in his teaching treatise. You can read more about this episode at Life As We Might Have Known It: What If Ethanol Was Our Primary Engine Fuel.

You may also recognize Rob Bradley's name because he was the moderator of the online debate that I engaged in a few months ago with Michael Lynch, another recognized "energy expert." This two-part debate is housed on the MasterResource.org website and can be found by clicking on the following two links:

My shock at Mr. Simmons' lack of knowledge had nothing to do with my relationship with Rob Bradley because The Handyguys' video interview took place 3 years before my first exchange with Mr. Bradley, and 6 years before the debate with Michael Lynch. Clearly, Simmons couldn't have learned anything from events that hadn't happened yet.

I attempted to contact Daniel Simmons at IER and see if he's learned anything that's actually true about ethanol since 2013. What I found out was that Danny Simmons left IER approximately 4 years ago.

So, I did a Google search of his name along with the word "ethanol." There was only one pertinent search return involving Simmons and ethanol: a July 2016 presentation that he participated in at the Heritage Institute. That presentation was broadcast and videotaped by CSPAN. Unfortunately, it shows that Dan Simmons' knowledge of ethanol fuel issues was as ignorant in 2016 as it was in 2013. The complete one hour presentation can be watched on the CSPAN website.

The funny side of this presentation at Heritage Institute is that Simmons was just one of three anti-ethanol presenters. The other two were Marlo Lewis and Nick Loris, both of whom share Simmons' ignorance and have been subjects of my previous editorials.

WTF!

I wanted to know more about Danny Simmons, so I went back to Google to see what else has happened to him since this 2016 Heritage Institute televised event.

Well, that's when I arrived at the "WTF" moment. I came across a news story and video of Daniel R. Simmons (the very same ignorant ethanol-hater) being sworn in as Assistant Secretary at the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. This happened in February 2019.




It's hard to get things right when there's bad information at the top

• Could this be one of big reasons why America's Ethanol Policies are going backwards? Is this why ethanol isn't being given a fair shake and refinery exemptions ran rampant in 2019?

• Is this why the EPA feels it can rip apart the Renewable Fuels Program?

• How can ethanol fuel get a fair shake when there's someone(s) like this at the top of DOE helping to make and implement energy policy?

• Did anyone in the ethanol fuel industry raise a stink about Simmons nomination and confirmation?

• Did Simmons ever issue any updated information that shows he now has a better understanding of the benefits of ethanol?

Back at the end of January, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down some "small refinery" exemptions from meeting the Renewable Fuel Standard. This was seen by many in the ethanol industry as a great ray of hope.

At the end of February, U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced that the department will provide $100 million in grants for the Higher Blends Infrastructure Incentive Program (HBIIP). This led some people to think that the ray of hope blossomed into a floodlight of exuberant expectation.

Then the other shoes dropped.

Stories began circulating that the Administration is going to be challenging the 10th U.S. Circuit Court's decision on refinery exemptions, and it was remembered that even if there is greater availability of E15 pumps at filling stations that the public still largely believes in the negative claims about ethanol. You know: that ethanol damages engines, that it is uneconomical, that it creates as much or more harmful emissions as gasoline, that the production of ethanol causes worldwide starvation, and is destroying earth's waterways.

Greater availability of E15 pumps will not change these unfounded beliefs. All that will happen is that ethanol opponents will be able to say that more money is being wasted to sway agriculture voting in the upcoming elections...it'll be a replay of the ethanol subsidies issue (even though the issue doesn't exist) and create more animosity.

America and the world is on a collision course to replace internal combustion engines with electric motors. It doesn't matter that battery technology is still very troublesome. It doesn't matter that electric vehicles and the creation of electricity is nearly as dirty as gasoline and diesel powered internal combustion engines. The public mostly views electric motors as the way to decrease pollution and eliminate catastrophic climate change. If internal combustion engines are phased out - and in some cases summarily banned - it's the end of ethanol fuel. And if this happens, there's no increase in consumer demand for alcohol-based hand sanitizers that will save the non-beverage ethanol industry.

But this wouldn't be good news for the petroleum oil industry because if internal combustion engines go away, there goes the primary source of revenue for the oil industry. Gasoline won't be needed...diesel fuel won't be needed...lubricating motor oil will not be needed. It would be the end of the ethanol fuel industry, the end of the petroleum oil industry, it would be the end of the filling station and convenience store industry, and it would be the end off numerous manufacturing industries for related products. Then we would be stuck relying on Communist China to be producing electric motors and batteries for us.

This is why a good, fact-filled, hard hitting consumer-targeted ethanol education and awareness program is needed

Think about it!

To help you think, you might like to read some of these other reports:

The Hypocrisy of Big Oil

Ethanol is the SAVIOR of the Oil Industry, Convenience Store Industry, Automotive Supply Chain Industry and Much More!

The Irrelevance Of BTU Rating - Big Oil's Gimmick To Hoodwink The Public

Why Do Small Engines Suffer From Ethanol Problems?

Ethanol Does NOT Suck Water Out Of The Air

The Irrelevance Of BTU Rating - Revisited