Biden’s energy solutions go from dumb to dumber.
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OK, I’ve got a personal ax to grind in this one.
Instead of encouraging a restoration of U.S. based oil & gas production, Biden has decided to “temporarily” increase the allowable ethanol content in gasoline from 10% to 15%.
Note: “Temporarily” is a synonym for “transient” … as in “transient inflation”.
Ostensibly, the move is intended to stretch U.S. oil supplies by, in effect, diluting the oil content in gas … as a means of curbing inflation at the pumps.
Oil industry execs oppose the move, arguing that it will shave, at most, one thin dime off a gallon of gas … and may have a net zero effect since gas refiners will incur higher costs shifting over to the 15% mix.
Greenies oppose the move since vehicle smog emissions increase as more ethanol is added to the gas blend.
Legal eagles point out that “A three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has already ruled that the EPA had improperly reinterpreted legal language in the Clean Air Act long understood as limiting ethanol to 10% of the content of gasoline.” Source
But, Biden administration lawyers say that Biden’s decision is based on a “different authority”.
You know, that wormy “We’ll do as we please with executive orders … and you can try to stop us.”
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And, what’s my beef?
Anybody with a car, a lawn mower or a boat knows that that ethanol literally gums up engines … hurting engine performance and often damaging engines.
I know that firsthand … having spent mucho buckos to “remediate” the ethanol effects on my boat’s engine.
The latter is a well known, wide spread and costly problem as evidenced by the springing up of ethanol-free gas pumps at marinas.
In effect, Biden’s move shift costs from the pumps to repair shops.
That said, I expect Psaki to throw shade for Biden with a variant of her “Boo-hoo your Peloton is trapped in the supply chain” wise crack.
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P.S. Corn farmers love the move to increase the ethanol content in gas.
Why?
It increases the demand for and price of corn.
In economics, it’s called “trading nickels”.
In strategic analysis, it’s called “going for the capillaries instead of the jugular.”
The Homa Files 