The End Of An Era Already?

We have always been behind that fact that the corn fuel industry will go the way of the dinosaur as soon as the rest of the world wakes up and realizes what a crock of crap it is!

Gas prices in our area are down a whole dollar. The oil cartels made their money, then the speculators came in and jacked the prices up to make their money, and now they are out, OPEC is realizing that it might be wise to go back to profit by more quantity sold, thus lowering the prices.

What evidence do we have of this? Well, for one thing oil, once way over a $100 a barrel is now down again to under $85 a barrel. Ironically, the gas prices lowering do not reflect this yet. That will hit within the next 30 days, hopefully.

So how does this affect the E85 enthusiasts? Financial discord, short and simple. Now that oil is coming down again, watch how many "green" enthusiast drop their credo like a bad habit.

That leaves the post hippies, the college kids not actually producing money yet, and a few people who really do believe in "being green". Unfortunately for them that is not going to be enough to keep the E85 ball rolling. Below is an article from American Banker, proving the financiers are already scared to death and ready to bolt!

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In Alternative Fuel Lending, The Boom Seems To Be Over
By Robert Barba
AMERICAN BANKER
October 7, 2008.

NOTE: Below are only excerpts, but you can read the whole article by clicking the link above.

"A lot of community banks in the Corn Belt did most of the financing," said Alex Moglia, the president of Moglia Advisors, a Chicago consulting firm for alternative fuel companies. "Many of these banks have staked their future on biodiesel and ethanol, and they are now scared to death. And they should be."

The economics for ethanol plants have shifted. Corn prices hit record highs over the summer and have softened only slightly since. Constructing ethanol plants has grown more expensive, and an ever-increasing supply of ethanol has outpaced demand and kept prices down."

Need More Thinking Like This - Biofuel From Waste

Okay, we are in no way naive enough to think that making biofuel from waste material is going to free the United States from it dependency of oil. But we continue to focus on these types of stories because it does two things:

1) It definitely offsets at least some fuel (like in the following story). And

2) Any time you can turn waste into something useful besides landfill, it is always a good thing.

So we say kudos to Michigan Technical Academy high school!

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School of fuel
BY PEGGY WALSH-SARNECKI • FREE PRESS EDUCATION WRITER • September 13, 2008

NOTE: Below are only excerpts, but you can read the whole article by clicking the link above.

"With Hurricane Ike bearing down on gulf coast oil rigs and gas prices that could head up to as much as $4.50 a gallon, one local school is managing to fuel some of its buses for a mere 80 cents a gallon.

Students in the Michigan Technical Academy high school in Redford Township, a charter school focused on automotive, electrical and college preparatory curriculums, are making biofuel from corn oil previously used to fry tortilla chips.

Besides making the buses smell a little like a Mexican restaurant, the biofuel program is teaching students that a little ingenuity can confront serious environmental issues. It all started when automotive technology director Marty Depowski wanted to keep his classes interesting."

Beware The Corn Evangelist - Harvest Time Cometh

The Second Coming of Biofuels

Plant-based fuels have been a big disappointment to date, but new "green biofuels" might fulfill their promise.

by Chris Dannen on DiscoverMagazine.com

published online September 2, 2008

NOTE: Below are only excerpts, but you can read the whole article by clicking the link above.

"The New Plant Fuel
"Green diesel," as it's being called, isn't the first effort to use plants to power cars; your gas tank probably has a blend of gas and plant-derived ethanol inside it right now. But it's hard to get excited about biofuels when they already have such a bad rep. The use of corn and sugar in fuels has driven up the cost of food by a whopping 75 percent worldwide, according to a recent report by the World Bank. And a Nobel-prize winning chemist has publicized his findings that biofuels made from nitrogen-thirsty plants (like corn and canola) actually produce a net increase in greenhouse gas emissions, because they release nitrous oxide during their production. As if all that wasn't bad enough, ethanol blends hurt your car's fuel economy. Not exactly the makings of a green energy panacea."

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We have been warning of this for a long time. It, therefore, is no surprise to us here at The E85 Scam. We are surprised, however, that there are still authors and reporters out there still talking about it.

The focus for the next weeks will be dominated McCain's pick of Palin for vice presidential nomination. After all the hoopla of whether or not the skeletons in the candidate's closet is enough to keep them from office, we might, and we say might optimistically, get back to some serious issues at hand.

You eco-soldiers can forget about the war, you are no real match to the boys in the south with their big 4 x 4s ready to roll over you. . . and those machines don't drink corn juice!

Don't Mess With Texas!

Texas Is Fed Up With Corn Ethanol
By Rick Perry, The Governor of Texas
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
August 12, 2008. Page A21

NOTE: Below are only excerpts, but you can read the whole article by clicking the link above.

"At what price will corn be so expensive that the federal government will decide that it is time to stop driving up the price of food?

Three years ago, Congress imposed a Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) mandate that has forced the gasoline industry to mix massive amounts of corn-based ethanol into the nation's fuel supply. In 2007, Congress nearly doubled that mandate to require nine billion gallons of ethanol be blended into gas in 2008 and even more in 2009."

"As we can see now, the diversion of our corn supply from grocery stores to gasoline pumps has caused the price of corn to spiral out of control. Corn prices were once driven by market forces. Today they are artificially driven up by a government mandate. In 2004, before the mandates were imposed, the cost of corn hovered around $2 per bushel. Now it is close to $8 per bushel.

This is driving up the cost of staple food items at the grocery store. And it is also driving up the price of corn-based feed, devastating the livestock industry to the point that Texas cattle feeders have been operating in the red since 2007."

"Last Thursday, the EPA announced it was denying my request. Why? Because the agency's agriculture and energy economists said the mandates are not causing sufficient damage to warrant action. This not only goes against common sense, but runs counter to the experience of Americans at the grocery checkout counter.

Denying Texas's request is a mistake that will continue to force families to bear a heavier financial burden to put food on the table than necessary and harm the livestock industry.

Supporters of the ethanol mandate have their hearts in the right place if they want to diversify this nation's fuel supply. But artificially propping up an industry to the detriment of the vast majority of Americans is bad policy.
And that's what this mandate does.

There are many sources of renewable energy in addition to corn-based ethanol. It is time America took steps to develop the technology to make use of these sources.

Texas is leading the nation in this movement. We are a top contributor to the nation's domestic fuel supply, and a leader in wind, biofuel and solar energy production. We harness the benefits of clean and efficient nuclear power, and are investing considerable resources in developing nonfood bioenergy such as algae, switchgrass, jatropha and camelina—all of which have minimal impact on food production and the environment. The U.S. would be wise to follow Texas's lead."

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As jaded as we at The E85 Scam has become, we have to actually applaud The Governor of Texas. If not for him speaking out, we would have assumed G. W. Bush would be somehow trickling some of this oil money down to his home state's leader.

Texas is a Big state, not just in size, which it is, but in powerful U. S. money. Do not kid yourself, Hollywood's money is only illusionary as the movies they make. Texas holds high ranking money in many of the different industries in the United States. They have some of the best paid lobbyists that Washington has ever seen.

So, again, we applaud the Texas Governor, and we love saying, "Don't Mess With Texas!"

You Had Better Listen To Your Mother...

Corn Ethanol: Hero or Hype?
recently you’ve probably heard some buzz about ethanol. But corn-based ethanol isn’t the magic bullet solution to America’s oil addiction. Many nuanced and complicated issues currently swirl around this biofuel.
BY: LAURA EVERS and JOHN ROCKHOLD

"Up to your ears in ethanol hype? Before you choose E85 at the pump, consider the complicated issues behind this biofuel.
Ethanol is ethyl alcohol, sometimes called “grain alcohol.” It’s made by fermenting the sugar and starch in the corn into alcohol, which is then separated from the water by distillation.

In the United States, most ethanol is produced from corn. You’re likely to encounter ethanol as a fuel additive or as E10 (10 percent ethanol, 90 percent gasoline), on which any modern vehicle with a gas engine can run. Full-fledged ethanol fuel — E85 (85 percent ethanol, 15 percent gasoline) — has limited, although increasing, availability and requires a car with a “flex-fuel” engine. Unlike gasoline, ethanol is renewable, and it causes less tailpipe emissions.

Why isn’t corn ethanol the answer?

As gas prices and concerns about global warming skyrocket, demand for ethanol continues to grow. But increased use of corn and other grains to produce ethanol is one of several factors pushing up the price of food made from these crops (including meat from animals fed with grains).

Lester Brown, president of the Earth Policy Institute, who has studied these issues for decades, describes this as the beginning of a great tragedy. “The United States, in a misguided effort to reduce its oil insecurity by converting grain into fuel for cars, is generating global food insecurity on a scale never seen before,” he says.

Other issues relative to corn ethanol include:

• In current engines, E85 provides about 30 percent less fuel economy than gasoline.
• Ethanol cannot be transported through existing pipelines because it is corrosive and easily absorbs water. It must be delivered by trucks, barges and rail cars, which produces more pollution.
• Converting remaining prairie, forests and rainforests into cropland will release CO2 and add to the problems of global warming. (Experts debate the extent of this concern.)
• Even if all current U.S. corn production went to biofuels, we could offset just 12 percent of our current gasoline use, according to a 2006 study from the University of Minnesota.
• Expanding ethanol production could diminish and pollute local water supplies.
• The numbers are debated among scientists, but it appears that, at best, the energy produced by corn ethanol is only slightly more than the energy required to make it.

Can we get ethanol from other sources?

Cellulosic ethanol has huge potential to be a part of the solution to declining gasoline supplies. It can be made from non-food sources such as switchgrass and wood chips, and can be produced on marginal (non-food crops) land. Cellulosic ethanol is the subject of extensive and rapidly evolving research, as its energy bang for the buck is much greater than that for corn ethanol — with anywhere from twice to four or five times the energy output versus the input (depending on the source and production technique). Significant hurdles remain before it can become a widely available fuel, but recent legislation (see On the Road to Energy Independence) will encourage its development.

So what’s the verdict?

Ethanol alone won’t become America’s replacement for gasoline. Given the increasing human population, using grain for fuel rather than food promises to be highly problematic. There is reason to be optimistic about cellulosic ethanol, but even with technological breakthroughs it’s unlikely to be a wholesale remedy. Instead, we’ll need advanced biofuels among a variety of solutions, including increased fuel efficiency; lower speed limits and less driving; advanced public transportation; electric and hybrid-electric vehicles; and more."

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This article shows that even a very liberal magazine like Mother Earth News sees the dangers of E85. We were so glad to see, not only speaking out against it, but actually published in their August/September 2008 (they are a bi-monthly publication).

We were so impressed, in fact, that we thought it necessary to post the entire article (there is still a link to it if you want to go there).

Way to Go Mother Earth News! We applaud you!

The Message Is Spreading, Are You Going To Be Part Of The Revolution?

University study: Greenhouse gas goals achievable
by Stephanie Hemphill, Minnesota Public Radio
July 22, 2008

NOTE: Below is only an excerpt, but you can read the whole article by clicking the link above.

"St. Paul, Minn. — As state lawmakers a year ago were setting a goal of reducing Minnesota's carbon emissions 15 percent by 2015 and 80 percent by 2050, lawmakers commissioned the University of Minnesota to conduct a study to determine whether the goal is achievable, and if so, how it can be done.

Julian Marshall is a co-author of the new report.

"We can meet our objectives, but we have to get going now," he said. "We have to begin sooner rather than later."

Marshall teaches environmental engineering at the University of Minnesota. He and his colleagues at the Center for Transportation Studies examined several strategies to see how well they would work to reduce emissions.

The strategies fall into three groups -- making vehicles more efficient; developing fuels that produce fewer emissions; and providing more choices in transportation.

The authors say Minnesota needs to use all three strategies in order to meet the goals in state law.

David Kittelson, a mechanical engineer who specializes in engines and fuels, says people in other countries, including Europe and China, are already driving cars that are as efficient as new U.S. standards call for 17 years from now.

Kittleson says high gas prices are prompting Americans to demand more fuel-efficient cars, and Detroit is starting to get the message.

"We can meet our objectives, but we have to get going now."

- Julian Marshall

"The American strategy was always to make a small car chintzy, a little bit noisy, a little bit frayed around edges, a little bit uncomfortable, so that you'd want to buy a bigger car," Kittelson said. "The Europeans have shown that you can make smaller cars comfortable, quiet, luxurious, and still get good fuel economy."

The report proposes what the researchers call a feebate system. The idea combines fees on gas-guzzlers with rebates for more efficient cars.

It says we need to move beyond corn-based ethanol to cellulosic biofuels which are made with non-food crops, such as switchgrass.

It adds that electric vehicles would reduce carbon emissions, but only if the electricity isn't made with coal. David Kittelson says wind power isn't the only option. He says Sweden gets one-third of its electricity from biomass, such as waste from agriculture and forestry.

"The best thing you can do to biomass is to put it into a power plant, burn it, make electricity, and use that to drive electric vehicles," Kittelson said."

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We are liking the way Marshall and Kittelson think! We just wish the rest of the world would catch on.

We never really thought about the big 3 making small cars inconvenient to own to reduce sales, and although we are sure that it is purely speculative, it IS believable. Some of us here at TheE85Scam.com have worked in the auto industry for the last 20 years and have no problems believing it is possible from the waste and illogical decisions we have seen.

What To Do, What To DO? EPA Stalls For Time To Think.

Ethanol industry braces for EPA decision on its future

By David Streitfeld
Published: July 22, 2008

NOTE: Below is only an excerpt, but you can read the whole article by clicking the link above.

"The ethanol industry, until recently a golden child accustomed to favorable treatment from Washington, is facing a critical decision on its future.

The governor of Texas, Rick Perry, is asking the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to temporarily waive regulations requiring the oil industry to blend ever-increasing amounts of ethanol into gasoline. A decision is expected as soon as this week.

Perry, a Republican, says the billions of bushels of corn being used to produce all that mandated ethanol would be better suited as livestock feed than as fuel. Feed prices have soared in the past two years as fuel has begun competing with food for cropland.

"When you find yourself in a hole, you have to quit digging," Perry said during an interview. "And we are in a hole."

His request for an emergency waiver cutting the ethanol mandate to 4.5 billion gallons, from the 9 billion gallons required this year and the 10.5 billion required in 2009, is backed by a coalition of food, livestock and environmental groups. Farmers, carmakers, ethanol and other biofuel producers are lobbying to keep the existing mandates."

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The EPA has decided to not decide, for the moment. They have pushed the decision off until some time in August. The decision they make will definitely affect Ethanol production and acceptance, either way.

It is always fascinating to us to watch government squirm over decisions like this. It is a bad position to be in.

If they decide to maintain the 4.5 billion, then in effect, they are admitting that ethanol increases that they have been singing praises for could have been wrong, and that would mean that government was wrong. Egg on the face sort of thing.

If they decide go forward with the 9 billion, and then the economic collapse from food companies creating shortages and panic, then they may have been right, but sit on the verge of an anarchical society for lack of food and fuel!

Oh what to do!?!?!?!?

We want to see the Texas Two-Step!

Of course we say swallow your pride and admit ethanol is a mistake, period. It is not like government has never been wrong before. If you are truly for the people, let's just pretend for the moment eh, then do what is best for them and stop this ethanol insanity!

Bad News For GM - Good News To Us At TheE85Scam.com

This week has indeed been, shall we say, troubling for General Motors. On Monday they released news that they are going to help state governments promote and add E85 gas pumps at stations. With the stocks plummeting and the faith in their stock holders all but gone, We are wondering where they will get the money to do this.

Then Wednesday came about and General Motors announced that it is reducing, if not eliminating, the medical insurance benefits of its white-collared work force (they can not do that to the blue-collared work force because they gave the control of benefits, and a large sum of money to the United Auto Workers to control and take over blue-collar benefits this last contract, which may have saved the blue-collar workers benefits, but in our opinion ironically hurt GM and helped contribute to their current financial liquidity issues).

So is this where the money is going to come from to continue heavy investing into the "FlexFuel" division and push E85? Maybe, it could be just coincidence too.

But, that is just the preamble to the actual post here we had in mind. So here is the bad news/good news story...
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J.D. Power And Associates 2008 Alternative Powertrain Study

NOTE: Below is only an excerpt, but you can read the whole article by clicking the link above.

"The study also finds that the percentage of consumers who are considering a hybrid-electric vehicle is up from 50 percent in 2007 to 62 percent in 2008. Consideration for flexible fuel (E85) capable vehicles—which are designed to run on gasoline or a blend of up to 85 percent ethanol—has decreased slightly from 2007 (47% vs. 43% in 2008), while consideration for clean diesel demonstrated the most notable decline from 23 percent in 2007 to only 16 percent in 2008. The drop in consideration for diesel technology may be attributed to the substantial increase in the relative price of diesel since 2007."
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Like we said, good news to us. But this is another blow to the mighty GM. Are they, already on the financial brink of disaster (a one time impossible thought), once again chasing a declining market? They are putting more into E85 FlexFuel programs, but we feel that they should continue on projects like the Chevy Volt instead.

Once E85, Ethanol, FlexFuel, Corn Gas, or whatever you want to call it, gets exposed for the farce that it is to all the public, we think that it will become just another history lesson. Then again, if history repeats itself, it probably won't. Not sure about you, but our history books were only filled with positive things in U.S. History, not our failures.

By the way, if you want to download a PDF of J.D. Power's Report, Click Here!

Of Course GM Has No Motive To Do This, Right?

Recently in the news, in fact as recent as last week, rumors and murmuring were heard on Wall Street about the One Time Blue Chip Giant, General Motors, falling below $10 a stock and cash reserve problems. Let's just say that regardless what fantastic story a skilled accountant can tell with the company books, once the "liquidity" of a company is questioned on Wall Street, it is never good conversation.

So it is no surprise to me, with as much money as GM has vested into the Ethanol/FlexFuel program, that they are willing to assist state Governors as to where to place new E85 pumps. Simple business math, more pumps available, more likely to sell FlexFuel vehicles. With that in mind, keep an open thought process when you read this article...

GM, Governors Will Work to Expand Ethanol Distribution in U.S.
by Edward Klump

"July 13 (Bloomberg) -- General Motors Corp., the biggest U.S. automaker, and the National Governors Association said they are working on expanding the distribution network for E85 ethanol in preparation for selling ethanol from non-grain sources.

The plan calls for GM to assist states in finding appropriate place to put ethanol pumps, according to a statement issued today. The Detroit-based company has helped bring 300 E85 pumps online in 15 states during the last three years. There are fewer than 1,700 pumps for E85, which is 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline, in the country out of about 170,000 gasoline stations, GM said.

Having more E85 pumps will provide owners of flex-fuels vehicles better access to the fuel. GM said it will make 50 percent of production flex-fuel capable by 2012, if the infrastructure is moving ahead. The company also has investments in two ethanol companies, Coskata Inc. and Mascoma Corp.

`This collaboration with GM will help increase the availability of E85 around the country, providing more consumer choice and moving us toward a more secure energy future,' Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty said in the statement."

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Remember the old saying about a cloud and silver lining? There was one if you were watching carefully in this article. It was, "preparation for selling ethanol from non-grain sources".

So maybe, just maybe, they are starting to realize that E85 sucks to begin with, but if you HAVE to produce it, save our grain and find alternative production. Garbage, waste water, and other things being looked into now. The U.S. alone (not to mention the Garbage we take in from Canada) should produce enough garbage to create vast amounts of ethanol, one would think.

Domestic Oil - The Truth.

This post has more to do with domestic oil issues than ethanol. But, it shows another example of manipulation by news and other media.

Have you heard of ANWR? It is the orange section in the map to the left, and it is called Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. It is a topic of debate for drilling of oil. For wants to drill, obviously, and against do not wanting to save the land and wildlife from the effects of the drilling.

The proposed area is a 2000 acres (3.13 square miles) out of 19 million acres, in between 5 other already drilled oil driling facilities. Now, to understand the ridiculousness of it all, you have to have some perspective of what is really going on here.

The proposed ares is on the ANWR coastal plain, the square dot in the green area in the picture above with the site to its left and the 4 to the right. When the coalition opposing this drilling, consisting mostly of Democrats, liberals, and those that call themselves "greens", protest and start to talk about ANWR, they show pictures like these below.

Now, these pictures do show ANWR and its natural beauty. For all of these are from ANWR, but, look closely at these pictures. . .there is only 1 (the far right) that might be confused with a coastal region. But in fact, the only 1 in question is an inland waterway, probably seasonal at that. But in reality, the area in question for proposed drilling looks like...

The area that they are proposing is not necessarily a haven for the animals. It is more an "ice bridge" in the winter, and rarely used by the wildlife at all in the summer. In fact, we can look at the effect on the wildlife at a nearby drilling facility already in operation. Let's see how depleated the wildlife has become by looking at the pics below.

As you can see, the wildlife does not seem very upset with the production efforts of Prudhoe Bay drilling facility, which is a neighbor of the area that they are proposing to drill at. Oh, and by the way, Prudhoe Bay is responsible for 17% of United States Domestic Oil Production.

Now, why do you think that the Consortium, remember made primarily of Democrats, are lying about ANWR?

Many do not remember, but, there was a time previously that Al Gore said that the Government should work to articficially rasie the gas prices to $5.00 a gallon. Well, Al and his pals appear to have almost completed their goal.

Now if the drilling was allowed and it only made up 10% of Domestic oil, that is still be 3 Times the amount current production of ethanol makes up. Am I the only one that considers that peculiar?

Gasoline Prices: A Scam To End All Scams

Written by Al Hollingsworth

Sunday, 20 April 2008

“Leaders are made, not born. Leadership is forged in times of crisis. It's easy to sit there with your feet up on the desk and talk theory. … It's another thing to lead when your world comes tumbling down.” - Lee Iacocca There was a great joke on Friday’s edition of Information Morning. A guy drives into a service station and said, “Give me five dollars worth of gas.” The attendant farted and gave him a receipt. It summed up the current gouging at the gas pumps to a tee. For years I’ve harbored this deep-seated scorn for members of the regional media who , once a year, prostitute themselves by taking part in the sponsored Atlantic Journalism Awards. I don’t know, or really care, who foots the bill these days, but for many years it was Imperial Oil. It may still be today, for all I know. I’ve never darkened the door. In the days when I was part of the media horde, I avoided the 4th Estate’s annual ego trip with a passion. Think about it. You are asked to submit what you think is an award winning effort. A column. A documentary. A story. A commentary. A cartoon. A…oh, you get the picture…. Sorry, I might have been born with a big head, but the contents inside were somewhat diminished. Especially the ego. The egotism aside, what really galled me was the fact that the event was sponsored by an oil company, that, even in those early days, were gouging the people. Yet these media types who, for 364 days, pounded away at the oil barons, would on the 365th day sit with these moguls, eating their food and drinking their booze. How hypocritical is that. To paraphrase Johnny Paycheck, they should have been saying, “Take this award and shove it.” Ah, but as my old friend, the late Harry Flemming, was given to say; “There’s no whore like an old whore.” Oh how it pains me to say “the late.” The memories of my personal boycott came rushing back this week when the price of gasoline hit $1.30 a liter. The hedge fund boys and girls are the REAL rulers of this world. Any doubts? Look what their speculation is doing to the price of commodities, grain in particular. We are in crisis and sadly, no one is doing anything about it. We need leadership. The masses are vulnerable and no one is standing up for us. This is not a comment about Stephen Harper and the Conservatives, it is about the system in general. Governments are more concerned about their personal survival and couldn’t give a rodent’s rear about our personal well-being. We are being told that petrol prices could hit the $1.50 a liter level before the tourist season hits, and according to those in the tourism industry, that would spell D-I-S-A-S-T-E-R. Well, enough about the tourists, what about us natives? If we can’t afford to feed ourselves and drive our cars …. somebody, somewhere has to stand up and speak for us. If this doesn’t happen, I’m not sure where this is all going to end. (Al Hollingsworth is a retired journalist and broadcaster who has never accepted a morsel of food or a drop of booze from an oil company) __________________________________________________ Al hails from Canada. He is a well respected journalist and broadcaster. At the time of me posting this, the American Dollar was worth 1.020 Canadian Dollars, for the purposes of this writing, I am going to assume an even 1 to 1 ratio. That means his $1.30 a liter would convert (1 gallon = ~ 3.8 liters) to ($1.30 X 3.8) $4.94 a gallon of gas in Al's Canada. His $1.5o a liter would equal $5.70 a gallon. Although it can make you sort of humble paying only $4.19 (the average around my neighborhood today), it still shows the bottom line that the world, not just the U.S. is suffering. And like the U.S. the rest of the world is being scammed by their Governments too by trying to force ethanol upon them. I like his writing style and humor, but he drives a hard ending point. We ARE in a world crises! The Governments are not helping because there is a profit in what's happening to them. Big Business is not going to help because they are making a killing. The really sad thing is where will these "leaders" be when the working class drops out of society because they lost their house to foreclosure and have abandoned their vehicles because they can not afford to feed them, and so lost their jobs too. But rest assured, there will be a suited business man that will figure out a way to profit off from us in the New World Order Tent City... maybe he'll render the worlds water undrinkable, and then he can sell us drinking water for $2 a liter. The problem is, how are we going to buy that either without money asshole! Anyway, come on by and talk about it. I'm the 4th "blue tarp" tent on the left. The one trying to figure out how to boil enough of this undrinkable water to make a cup of coffee...

Interesting Idea Of Saving You Money - Not!

America's Shrinking Groceries
By Kate Pickert - TIME - Friday, Jun. 27, 2008

NOTE: Below is only an excerpt, but you can read the whole article by clicking the link above.

"American supermarkets are epics of excess: it often seems like every item in the store comes in a "Jumbo" size or has "Bonus!" splashed across the label. But is it possible that the amount of food Americans are buying is, in fact... shrinking? Well, yes. Soaring commodity and fuel prices are driving up costs for manufacturers; faced with a choice between raising prices (which consumers would surely notice) or quietly putting fewer ounces in the bag, carton or cup (which they generally don't) manufacturers are choosing the latter. This month, Kellogg's started shipping Apple Jacks, Cocoa Krispies, Corn Pops, Froot Loops and Honey Smacks containing an average of 2.4 fewer ounces per box.

Similar reductions have recently happened or are on the horizon for many other products: Tropicana orange juice containers are shrinking from 96 ounces to 89; Wrigley's is dropping its the 17-stick PlenTPak in favor of the 15-stick Slim Pack; Dial soap bars now weigh half an ounce less, and that's even before they melt in the shower. Containers of Country Crock spread, Hellmann's mayonnaise and Edy's and Breyer's ice cream have all slimmed down as well (although that may not necessarily be a bad thing).

"People are just more sensitive to changes in price than changes in quantity," says Harvard Business School Professor John Gourville, who studies consumer decision-making."
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Food prices are rising faster than anticipated (Well, at least per serving or per unit price). We at TheE85Scam were not expecting major reactions until early fall. That would seem like the logical time frame from the lack of corn and other crops. But, as you can see, anticipated minimal crop returns and other issues like flooding is starting to affect consumables, especially food.

But our ingenious corporate giants have found a way to make everything all right! The article is probably right, most of us would not realize a volume change as much as we would a price increase. Although I believe it would depend upon the product. Changing a gallon for less to sell make would probably be noticed.

If they try to start selling gas by the liter. . .well, I guess just say you read it here first.

When Tolerance Is Low...Humor!

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

OPEC sells oil for $136.00 a barrel.
OPEC Nations buy U.S. grain for $7.00 a bushel.

SOLUTION:

Sell grain for $136.00 a bushel.
Can't buy it? Tough! Eat your oil!

Ought to go well with a nice thick, grilled fillet of camel ass!!!

Ethanol And Flooding Too Much For Farmers To Cope With

June 23, 2008, 10:43PM
Floods give more fuel to critics of ethanol
As corn prices climb, Texas governor is expected to urge EPA to amend rules

By BRETT CLANTON
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle

NOTE: Below is only an excerpt, but you can read the whole article by clicking the link above.

"Already under siege from many sides, the U.S. ethanol industry is facing further pressures as recent Midwest flooding pushes corn prices to new highs and federal regulators weigh calls to reduce required use of the fuel.

One of the people calling for that is Gov. Rick Perry, who has scheduled a news conference on the subject today in Washington. Fearing the effects of high corn prices on the state's cattle and poultry industries, he has called on the federal government to suspend or reduce its mandate setting minimum levels of ethanol in the nation's fuel supply.

He is expected to urge the Environmental Protection Agency to amend the ethanol requirement this year, citing its damaging impact on Texas' economy. An EPA comment period on the proposal formally ended Monday.

Agency spokeswoman Cathy Milbourn said it's too early in the process to speculate about what action the EPA may take.

A reduced mandate could shrink the market for ethanol at a time that the rising price of corn, the main ingredient of most U.S.-produced ethanol, and other higher operating costs have made ethanol more expensive to produce.

Some producers have shut down operations or halted new projects."
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All of these are continued signs pointing to acceptance of future prices of all food products to go up in price. The media usually helps fuel such panics instead of trying to actually inform people about stuff (isn't THAT a concept, actually INFORM people?).

The problem is people are too damn busy trying to figure out how to pay bills in this world of a 12 second attention span. See back in the 30s-early 60s, people wanted to be informed. They even took time to read papers, usually back to front, they trusted the news anchors. But today, people have no time for anything, so to take time to be informed, just is not going to happen.

The result, which started in the 60s, is sensationalism of news reporting to "capture" attention. You saw women (mind you at first only beauty queen blondes with big breasts with the advent of color TV) becoming new anchors. Anything to catch and keep the attention.

They struggled as more and more households had to become "DINKS" (dual income no kids) in the 80s. Now it is the norm. The media has come to understand their position as more of another advertising media than anything else.

This is why you started hearing about "Gas experts/analysts (although none ever came forward, hmmm interesting) predict gas prices to reach as much as $4 by the beginning of summer!" If you watched any news channel, this statement or some form of it was stated at least 3 times a week as one of the news top items from January through April.

The human mind actually starts to form habits or acceptance of things after about 31 days of repetition. So by March of this year, although not a single damned person I know of was happy about the rising gas price, they all "accepted that it is going to be that way" come the summer.

I have news for you people. Even if some miracle happened, and gas could be sold for $1.25 a gallon, it never will happen because you have been "conditioned" to accept the $4.oo a gallon price!

The gas companies have ALL had RECORD SETTING HIGH PROFIT QUARTERS for the last 3-4 quarters. That is a year's time. So can you now explain to me, since none of us are really using any less gas, we are all still going to work if we have it, the supply of gas coming into the country has neither increased or decreased, ethanol has solved nothing (it is only 3% of the US overall usuage), and supposedly since the refineries are hurting because oil has reached record high costs of $130 a barrel...HOW DO THESE COMPANIES CONTINUE TO INCREASE RECORD HIGH PROFITS 4 QUARTERS IN A ROW?

Well, for one you have been conditioned to accept high gas prices. So regardless of all the factors, they can charge high gas prices. And if any of you have been paying attention, they have been trying to manipulate your mind to accept some more as they have been saying that "gas prices could reach as high as $6 a gallon during the July-August travel time".

I know I got a little off topic here. But I think that this is important. The media's role versus their responsibility has been more than blurred. And now is the tool to the business man. For example, one of the first things you are taught as a new business is to hold a "Press Release" to try and get your name out in any form of news media you can. This "Press Release" is nothing more than an oversighted advertisement disguised as a news story about a new company in your area. Think about it.

Ethanol And Politics - How Ethanol Bought It's Way Into Our Lives!

The Ethanol Scam: One Of America's Biggest Political Boondoggles
By Jeff Goodell, From Issue 1032 of Rolling Stone

NOTE: Below is only an excerpt, but you can read the whole article by clicking the link above.

"The ethanol boondoggle is largely a tribute to the political muscle of a single company: agribusiness giant Archer Daniels Midland. In the 1970s, looking for new ways to profit from corn, ADM began pushing ethanol as a fuel additive. By the early 1980s, ADM was producing 175 million gallons of ethanol a year. The company's then-chairman, Dwayne Andreas, struck up a close relationship with Sen. Bob Dole of Kansas, a.k.a. "Senator Ethanol." During the 1992 election, ADM gave $1 million to Dole and his friends in the GOP (compared with $455,000 to the Democrats). In return, Dole helped the company secure billions of dollars in subsidies and tax breaks. In 1995, the conservative Cato Institute, estimating that nearly half of ADM's profits came from products either subsidized or protected by the federal government, called the company "the most prominent recipient of corporate welfare in recent U.S. history."

Today, ADM is the leading producer of ethanol, supplying more than 1 billion gallons of the fuel additive last year. Ethanol is propped up by more than 200 tax breaks and subsidies worth at least $5.5 billion a year. And ADM continues to give back: Since 2000, the company has contributed $3.7 million to state and federal politicians."
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I had always suspected either lobbyist or politicians with profits in their eyes to blame this ethanol scam on. I am glad this article exists, and I only wish that more reporters had the stones to write like this more often.

Ethanol's Inconvenient Truth

Corn as fuel has hurt world food supply

BY ANDY KIMBRELL |Andy Kimbrell is founder and executive director of the nonprofit Center for Food Safety.

June 20, 2008 - Off from newsday.com

NOTE: Below is only an excerpt, but you can read the whole article by clicking the link above.

"First among these is what we've learned about biofuels. Once considered the "green" solution to foreign oil dependence, corn ethanol has morphed into a humanitarian and environmental disaster. Diverting one-quarter of America's massive corn harvest from food to fuel has nearly crippled the globalized food system. A bushel of corn fetches about three times the price it did two years ago, one big reason for quadrupling tortilla prices in Mexico. Wheat and soybean farmers, lured by higher profits, switched over to corn. As a result, supplies of those crops are limited and wheat prices have risen an astronomical 130 percent since 2007, exacerbated by poor Australian harvests.

If you thought corn ethanol was at least lessening our dependence on foreign oil, think again: Ethanol displaces only 3 percent of our oil use. Additionally, the journal "Science" recently published research suggesting that biofuels are worsening global warming as well as hunger. High demand for energy crops is driving deforestation, which in turn releases huge amounts of greenhouse gases that far exceed minor reductions provided by the energy crops themselves."
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This is a well written article. The above quote is only a sample of a well argued overall theme of lessons learned by us (humans) trying to throw vast amounts of money into research and development of "the quick fix" versus addressing the root of the problems.

It reminds me of a recent story in the news that after Al Gore got so much attention from his "An Inconvenient Truth" it was leaked that his household uses up enough energy to power like 20 houses. In the spotlight, he has spent several thousands of dollars to "Green" up his house. Including solar panels and other alternative and efficient energy methods. Only to end up a year later actually using MORE than he did previously without the "greening" of his home. Boy, Al, I bet THAT'S an inconvenient truth you wish wasn't given as much fanfare...


"Al Gore's mansion uses more than twice the electricity in one month than the average household does in an entire year." - Al Gore's Own Inconvenient Truth

Turning Waste Into Fuel

Hoover's Mayor Petelos appears on Fox Business Network to discuss alternative fuels

Posted by Mike Cason -- Birmingham News June 18, 2008 6:16 PM

Hoover Mayor Tony Petelos made about a five-minute appearance on the Fox Business Network this afternoon to discuss the city's goal of sending yard waste from residents to a new ethanol plant in Livingston.

Petelos, who appeared about 5:30 p.m. on the network by live remote from the Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center, was interviewed by Neil Cavuto of the Fox network.

Gulf Coast Energy has announced it will build a demonstration plant in Livingston to convert wood waste into ethanol. The company hopes to eventually open a commercial-scale plant.

Petelos also talked about the city's production of biodiesel from recycled cooking oil and its use of ethanol in city vehicles.
_________________________________________________________________

I wish that there were more stories like this one. I feel that ethanol is not going to solve any problems, but I have no issues with them making it from waste versus the Government mandating 1/3 of our corn crops to the production of it.

Not that making it from waste is going to make it any more efficient, or any better in my opinion. And, I am not sure what the footprint is from making ethanol from waste, it might be higher or lower than crude to oil production. But I know that it is higher producing ethanol from corn.

I just feel better eliminating waste to create ethanol. It doesn't make ethanol any better, like I said, I just feel less panicked.

The Consumer Takes The Hit Again

Cereal, Sugar, Poultry Price Gains to Top Forecasts
-By Alan Bjerga on http://Bloomberg.com - June 19, 2008

NOTE: Below is only an excerpt, but you can read the whole article by clicking the link above.

"Retailers are passing along higher prices to consumers as global demand for food boosts U.S. exports, production is disrupted by harsh weather and more crops are used to make fuel, the USDA said. Corn, wheat, soybeans and rice have reached records this year, while beef, pork and chicken prices rallied.

While the department left its estimate of overall food-price inflation unchanged at 4.5 percent to 5.5 percent, the June revisions ``imply that we are in a higher part of the range now,'' USDA food economist Ephraim Leibtag said yesterday in an e-mail. ``Fuel, transportation and energy costs'' caused the most recent revisions, he said."

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As much as I hate to say this, this site is going to be easy to maintain. As the future moves forward, more and more articles like this is going to be in papers and the news on a daily basis. In addition, I believe they are going to find things out about ethanol that we are not even aware of yet. It may not be as impactful as say, asbestos, but all the same...

How Flooding Affects Your Pocket!

Another gas, grocery shock: How flooding will cost you

by Emily Gersema - Jun. 18, 2008 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic

NOTE: Below is only an excerpt, but you can read the whole article by clicking the link above.

"Iowa is one of the top growing states for corn, harvesting about 2 billion bushels per year, according to the Iowa Corn Growers Association.

Illinois, another big corn state, also has suffered some flooding.

A tight supply of corn spells trouble for everyone from the farm to the table.

Reynolds said farmers nationwide will have to pay more for feed to raise their livestock, giving rise to higher meat and poultry prices.

Processed foods made from corn, soybeans or other Midwestern crops also will increase in price.

The hit will also be coming at the gas pumps.

Opponents of the federal assistance program for renewable fuels have been blaming ethanol plants for buying up most of the nation's corn harvest to make biofuels, driving up animal feed and food prices."
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I have been waiting for this news to surface soon. I have friends who told me how bad the flooding really was in Iowa, forcing some to leave their farms. The picture sort of says it all.

So, here we are...we were going to be hurting anyways with this years crop of corn, this year being the possible first time in history the US would have to import to keep up with demand. Now with the 2 largest producing States under water, what does the future hold?

At what point does corn prices per bushel exceed the threshold making Ethanol just as expensive, or dare I say it, more expensive than regular gasoline.

Makes me sort of wish that we kept our reserves that we sent over to help the victims of the flooding over in Asia that just stayed on the boats, waiting possibly rotting while their leaders decide whether or not they are going to allow outside aide.

Texas Chimes In - Longhorns A Hurtin'

Editorial: Gas or food?
- 09:33 AM CDT on Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Unknown Author - The Dallas News.Com

NOTE: Below is only an excerpt, but you can read the whole article by clicking the link above.

"On Monday, corn futures flirted with $8 a bushel, an all-time record, and almost four times what corn was going for only two years ago. Because corn, in the form of corn syrup, is in so many food products in the American pantry, consumers are going to be hit hard at the supermarket.

High corn prices also translate into higher beef prices, as cattlemen struggle to feed their herds.

Which brings us to ethanol. Government economists say the domestic ethanol industry, heavily subsidized by the taxpayer, will consume a third of all the corn produced this year. It once made sense to incentivize farmers to grow corn for fuel; those days are gone."
____________________________________________________

Other than the occasional spelling mistake, this editorial seemed to echo the grumblings being heard from the Texas farming community. At first they were supportive of the whole ethanol efforts. But as floods and futures are looking dim, they are suddenly realizing the impact that is going to have at home.

Funny how people are all for something until it actually affects them...

It Is All Related, Feul Affects Nearly Everything

Gas costs are reflected in nearly everything you buy
- 12:35 AM CDT on Sunday, June 15, 2008

By ELIZABETH SOUDER / The Dallas Morning News

NOTE: Below is only an excerpt, but you can read the whole article by clicking the link above.

"I don't buy barrels of oil. So how does the price of oil affect me?

Everybody knows that oil is refined into the gasoline and diesel that fuels our vehicles. People might forget that plastics also come from oil. So when oil prices rise, you pay more at the pump and it costs more to transport goods. Plus, it costs more to manufacture anything made from or packaged in plastic. That covers just about everything Americans buy."


"What about corn prices, which are much higher? Is that because of oil?

There is an indirect connection. About 25 percent of the U.S. corn crop is going into corn-based ethanol – up from 11.5 percent in 2003. A key reason for increased ethanol production is the goal of reducing dependence on foreign oil, and cutting greenhouse-gas emissions. Rising ethanol production and increased demand for animal feed in developing nations help push up the price of corn."
________________________________________________________

Not strictly about ethanol or E85, but it is a very good article about how everything is connected in the fuel versus food continuing battle.

Now This I Could Live With

Checkbiotech.org, June 12, 2008

Alabama plant to begin producing ethanol from waste wood

NOTE: Below is only an excerpt, but you can read the whole article by clicking the link above.

"June 12, 2008

LIVINGSTON, Alab. - In a cavernous, abandoned lumber mill in the Black Belt, a small team of engineers and technicians is assembling a demonstration plant that, as early as this month, will start turning wood scraps into ethanol.

The plant would be one of the first in the country to use a technology called gasification on wood waste. Most ethanol and biodiesel plants use fermentation to turn soybeans or corn into fuel.

If the plant runs as advertised, the company - Gulf Coast Energy - plans to expand on the site with a $90 million commercial-scale plant, which it says will be capable of producing 45 million gallons of ethanol a year."
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If ethanol was produced from waste, I would then consider it a more viable solution. That would be, of course, if the cost to produce it didn't have a larger foot print nor cost more than the value.

I have also heard of them experimenting with human sewage.

The Word Is Spreading...

What we thought was going to be a little grass roots effort, our little fight, has gathered a lot of interest! And we can't thank you guys who support our efforts enough!

THANK YOU!

We will continue to add pictures sent to us to the site.

And Thank You guys again for supporting us here at
The E85 Scam.com!

King Corn wins battle at UN

Biofuels - ReportonBusiness.com - June 9, 2008

NOTE: Below is only an excerpt, but you can read the whole article by clicking the link above.

"ROME -- All hail the mighty American corn cob!

American corn was the biggest winner of the United Nations food summit in Rome last week. It wasn't supposed to be. Many countries and aid agencies - Egypt, Venezuela, Oxfam, even the director-general of the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization - came into the summit with corn, the de facto international symbol of the biofuels industry, in their gunsights.

They lost the gun fight. After three days of squabbling, the UN's final declaration did absolutely nothing to halt, even slow, the rise of the biofuels industry. Turning food into fuel was, in effect, sanctioned by the very UN food agencies that had called the summit to find solutions to the food crisis. People can go hungry. But heaven forbid that you can't find biofuels to fill your tank.

The outcome couldn't have made corn farmers happier. On Thursday, the day the UN yak-fest expired with a whimper, American corn prices rose to a record high. Corn for delivery in 2009, when one-third of the crop is expected to be consumed by the ethanol industry, reached a record $6.83 (U.S.) a bushel on the Chicago spot market.

That's about 250 per cent higher than the 2006 price.

Commodities analysts said corn would have taken a dive had the summit's biofuels fight gone the other way."
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I REALLY want you to read this again, "Turning food into fuel was, in effect, sanctioned by the very UN food agencies that had called the summit to find solutions to the food crisis."

Are you getting this? The UN would rather have a food supply go to fuel...

"Corn for delivery in 2009, when one-third of the crop is expected to be consumed by the ethanol industry" Does the rest of the World not know that Our Government MANDATES that one-third of the crop goes to the ethanol industry? I'd say, YEP! Pretty much on-third is expected to be consumed alright, it is safe to print that...

I do this as a passion now, but the more I learn, the more angry I get about this scam...

Government Mandates Corn Growth/Yield Usage.

Press Releases: PR Newswire: Oil/energy-Posted on Tue, Jun. 10, 2008

Food Before Fuel Campaign Launches With Goal of Encouraging Congress to Revisit Food-To-Fuel Policies -By Food Before Fuel

NOTE: Below is only an excerpt, but you can read the whole article by clicking the link above.

"Congressional policies mandate the conversion of more than one-third of all U.S. corn to ethanol, with additional subsidies and tariffs further promoting the diversion of food to fuel. Food policy experts broadly agree that these policies have contributed to record food price inflation, and the International Monetary Fund reports that U.S. food-to-fuel policy is responsible for more than 30 percent of food price inflation globally."
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I agree with others (videos too) that if Ethanol is such a great idea, why does our Government have to MANDATE the growing of our fields, and why does MY TAX MONEY (yeah, that would be yours too) have to subsidize the whole Ethanol/E85 fiasco.

So, let me try to summarize my thought pattern here, and see if you agree, or if I am full of it...
Some of my and your tax dollars subsidize and support, with the mandate from our Government, to produce and promote a product I don't agree with, has no real cost savings (in reality I am being kind it has a negative cost savings as it is typically only 25% cheaper, and as much as 33% less mpg), cost an average of 1.3 gallons of regular gasoline to produce 1 gallon of the ethanol product, and recently may have proved actually has a larger green gas footprint than fossil fuel.

The real thing that pisses me off about that last paragraph (and should you too) is that it cost an average of 1.3 gallons of regular gas to produce 1 gallon of ethanol!!!!!!

ARE YOU TELLING ME THAT I COULD HAVE 1300 GALLONS OF GAS FREED UP IF WE DID NOT MAKE 1000 GALLONS OF ETHANOL??? I think this might help lower gas prices, you think???

*sigh* Man, people, start thinking about this stuff instead of jumping on the latest band wagon.

Even Cars.com Weighs In -

- Article is from "Kicking Tires-the blog for car buyers", from cars.com

"Gas-Saving Moment of the Day: Avoid E85"
"Not only has E85 been oversold as a clean fuel, but if you insist on filling your vehicle with the 85% ethanol blend, you'll also be losing money at the pump. This is because while E85 costs less than regular gasoline, your engine doesn’t burn it as efficiently. As of Friday, AAA's Fuel Gauge Report puts the average price of E85 at $3.284 a gallon (well below the price of gas, which was $3.962 on Friday), but it adjusts the price based on the fuel’s lost efficiency compared to gasoline.

The actual average price when you factor in E85’s poor fuel economy? $4.321 per gallon. Hardly a deal, right?

Of course, some Midwestern states, like Iowa, Illinois and Minnesota, have taken to not only subsidizing corn production for ethanol, but also subsidizing the fuel at the pump, thus lowering the cost further. Still, according to E85Prices.com, the greatest spread between ethanol and gasoline prices right now is the 28% difference in South Dakota. This is one of just two states in the country where the adjusted average price of ethanol ($3.794) is lower than the average price of gasoline in that state ($3.890). The other is Colorado, where the difference is 26%. The next closest is New York with a 24% spread, so while gasoline's average cost is $3.87 a gallon there, ethanol's adjusted price comes to $3.98."

Let's Start Off With Some Ethanol (E85) Facts...

Here are some indisputable facts about E85 and ethanol in general.

NOTE: These relate to cars that were specifically designed for E85 or FlexFuel use. Trying to use E85 or FlexFuel with a regular unleaded gasoline engine will cause severe issues to the engine...do not use unless vehicle is manufactured for the use of it.

The Advantages of E85

- High octane rating (about 105 oct) resulting in 5-10% increase in horsepower

- 15-25% reduction in greenhouse gas emission

- 25% lower cost

- Part throttle acceleration greatly improved

- Lower risk of CO2 poisoning

- E85 evaporates easier and cools intake charge dramatically better

The Disadvantages of E85

- Ethanol is corrosive to many materials: aluminum (fuel lines, pumps, engine internals, intake manifolds, carburettors, pistons, cylinder heads etc), thermoset plastics (epoxy/resin), natural rubber (fuel lines, seals), cork (seals), terne (tin-lead-steel alloy)

- Hydroscopic, or corrosive nature enhanced by presence of water

- Conductive of electricity (corrosion by galvanization effect)

- Cold start problems at temperatures under 50 degrees ºF (+10ºC)

- Less energy content by mass than gasoline (E85: 12,500 BTU/lb, gasoline: 19,000 BTU/lb)

- 35% more fuel needed to burn

- At least 25% reduction in mileage: theoretical 33% reduction (discrepancy because of cooling ability of fuel on lean mixtures)

Ok. Right from the very start, let me ask you this question:
If it cost 25% less money, but gives you at least a 25% reduction in mileage...
WHERE ARE THE SAVINGS?!?!?!?

So it burns hotter (higher octane) and less emissions. These seem to be the redeeming qualities. HOWEVER - the fact is it takes more energy to produce ethanol from corn than it does gasoline from crude oil, SO THERE GOES ANY GREEN HOUSE GAS SAVINGS TOO!

- Absolutely more to come, E85 is just wrong all around.