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Aug 17, 2008 - Tell Us What You Really Think Ted

I'm no fan of ethanol after having seen the real world mileage hit of 7-10% I take when I'm forced to put it in the tank of my cars. I'll leave it to others to argue about the economics of production and delivery of the stuff, like Ted Nugent did today on the opinion page of wacotrib.com

Ted Nugent: Put a hoax in your tank with ethanol
'Feel-good' fuel is left's favorite snake oil

By Ted Nugent, Texas Wildman

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Greenies, what in God's name were you thinking? Oh, that's right. It feels good because it sounds good. And that is all that matters.

Consequences be damned. Such an inconvenient truth.

The same gaggle of clueless Democrat and Republican senators who raised hell to create the ethanol hoax, including presidential candidate John McCain, recently urged the fantasy-driven Environmental Protection Agency to back off enforcement of their legislation to ramp up production of ethanol.

Agri-welfare brats are going nuts, I'm sure.

Even the terminal big government maniacs at Rolling Stone magazine and the ultra left New York Times have admitted how the entire ethanol joke is out of control.

Respected economist Walter Williams recently declared, "Politicians, farmers and ethanol producers know they are running a cruel hoax on the American public. They are in it for the money."

With the nanny state bloating at the hands of the liberal Congress, government subsidies at a rate of 51 cents per gallon of ethanol will end up costing tax payers a whopping $3.5 billion this year for the 7 billion gallons expected to be produced.

Corn is a grossly expensive crop to grow. It takes more than 1,700 gallons of water to grow enough corn to produce one gallon of ethanol.

This uniquely high water content of ethanol is dangerously corrosive to standard gasoline pipelines, so it must be delivered to all destinations by truck or rail, creating a ridiculously cost prohibitive overhead.

Once ethanol finally finds its way into our gas tank, that same water content can ruin engines, making it even more destructive.

Another disturbing little ditty to add to the ethanol scam. Even after ethanol subsidies have ravaged our pocketbooks, as fuel it is at least 20 percent to 30 percent less efficient than gasoline.

Based on laws pulled out of the dark, gloomy recesses of mindless bureaucrats, the United States is required to produce and we are forced to burn 36 billion gallons of this snake oil by the year 2022.

That is five times our current load of 7.5 billion gallons. With 33 new ethanol plants being built right now and 60 more up and coming, this runaway freight train is on a collision course from hell.

America is the fourth-largest exporter of rice in the world. U.S. farmers have more than 30 million acres in corn production this year, which means fewer acres for rice, beans, wheat and hay.

Economics 101 tells me that supply and demand will force prices up for all those commodities and dramatically reduce our exporting capabilities.

Can you say "lose-lose"? Who came up with this game plan, Willie Nelson or Michael Moore?

Ted Nugent is a Waco-based musician and television show host.

Come on Ted, don't hold back like that.

5:38 am | Categories: commentary, ethanol Permalink | Alert Administrator

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