The Environmental Protection Agency just owned up to it. From The Daily Caller:
EPA RELEASED A LONG-DELAYED REPORT SHOWING ETHANOL HURTS THE ENVIRONMENT
An extensive report from the Environmental Protection Agency found that including ethanol into the U.S. gas supply is wreaking havoc on the atmosphere and soil.
In a study titled “Biofuels and the Environment: The Second Triennial Report to Congress,” the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) determined that ethanol derived from corn and soybeans is causing serious harm to the environment. Water, soil and air quality were all found to be adversely affected by biofuel mandates.
“Evidence since enactment of [the Energy Independence and Security Act] suggests an increase in acreage planted with soybeans and corn, with strong indications from observed changes in land use that some of this increase is a consequence of increased biofuel production,” read a portion of the 159-page report.
A bit more:
“[A]ir quality modeling suggests that production and use of ethanol as fuel to displace gasoline is likely to increase such air pollutants as PM2.5, ozone, and SOx in some locations,” read a section of the report pertaining to air quality. While traditional gasoline contains more CO2, ethanol-based fuels have more nitrogen oxides (NOx), which can be more harmful to human health. NOx can exacerbate asthma by causing inflammation of the respiratory airwaves, with long-term exposure resulting in decreased lung function.
Long delayed?
The EPA study, published on June 29, came after a long delay. Federal law calls for the EPA to conduct a study on the Renewable Fuel Standard every three years, but the government was four years late this go-around. The agency’s previous ethanol study was published in 2011.
Ethanol in fuel is a scam delivered to us by the corn lobby. It is especially bad on small engines - lawnmowers, string trimmers, generators, etc... Those engines only last 200 hours or so running on E10 where they basically run forever on full gasoline. Ethanol absorbes water from the air and eats up gaskets and hoses. Great stuff in a wine glass but not in an engine...
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