Posted on 02/08/2012 4:26:09 AM PST by afraidfortherepublic
Efforts to increase the amount of ethanol in gasoline were dealt a blow Tuesday by legislation that would block a 15% biofuel blend until more studies are done on whether it harms engines.
A bill introduced by U.S. Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) would require a comprehensive review of fuels containing more than 10% ethanol before they're allowed in the marketplace.
By a vote of 19-7, the bill was approved by a House committee on science, space and technology. Sensenbrenner chairs the committee.
Makers of small engines, especially, have said scores of their products could be ruined if consumers use a fuel mix that contains more than 10% ethanol - a corn-based fuel additive used in most gasoline.
A 15% blend could cause premature engine failure, lower fuel efficiency and void warranties, according to some engine-makers.
"In small engines, E15 is downright dangerous," Sensenbrenner said in a news release.
"If ethanol is going to be the fuel of the future, then there should be no problem conducting independent, comprehensive scientific analysis of its effect on American drivers," Sensenbrenner said.
Ethanol advocates say those tests have already been done and Sensenbrenner's legislation is meant to stall the introduction of E15 so that oil companies benefit from lower ethanol blends.
The higher blend could be introduced this spring if it's approved by the Environmental Protection Agency, which oversees motor fuels and emission standards.
E15 gasoline would be clearly labeled so that consumers don't mistakenly use it in small, older engines where it could be harmful, according to ethanol advocates. Also, they say, it's already been proven safe to use in automobile engines.
"Give consumers a choice. That's all we have asked for," said Gary Kramer, president of Badger State Ethanol in Monroe.
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Wisconsin Ethanol Interest Ping
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I think my weed eater just got a woodie.
LOL! Thanks, that made my morning!
Stop burning food
federal subsidies have become an addictive drug
.
The ethanol industry is a scam
2009 Ford Mustang GT mileage on 10%ethanol-gasoline blend-24.5mpg
Same car on 100% 87 octane gasoline- 28.3mpg
Highway driving older driver, your mileage may vary, but the wicked truth is alcohol does harm to everybody. It is a hoax.
They have said that 15% Ethanol wont hurt today’s modern Automobile engines so they want to go ahead with it.
What they don’
t say is that once they start using 15% Ethanol, where the hell do they think we willbe able to buy gasoline without it for the older engines and the smaller engines.
I don’t know what most people do for their small engines , but I get my gas from the same place I get my automobile gas from.
Once they go to 15% there isn’t any other fuel out there.
My mechanic told me to use premium in my small engines, but that means I have to pay extra.
How about a bill to end ethanol?
For a country that preaches moral justice (USA) to use a food product to power autos when people are starving to death stinks of hypocrisy and is dead wrong.
Hey Jim!
Folks are tired of being taxed for failed energy sources!!
Corn is a pitiful, as it costs more to make than it provides in energy.
My 1988 F150 just hates gasohol.
No one has ever been able to explain how putting 10% alcohol in my gasoline,
which gives me 10% poorer fuel economy, somehow makes me less dependent on foreign oil.
(which was the stated purpose of the program in the first place)
Well Einstein, tell me exactly how MANDATING more alcohol in our gas is giving consumers a choice. Don't these people even listen to what they themselves are saying? What an idiot.
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