The solution they landed upon, promotion and subsidization of ethanol, did help initially deal with those issues, but in the decades since, the subsidy has proven to be a distortion to the food market even as other alternative energy sources have been shown to
The solution they landed upon, promotion and subsidization of ethanol, did help initially deal with those issues, but in the decades since, the subsidy has proven to be a distortion to the food market even as other alternative energy sources have been shown to have less impact on the environment.
An in-depth investigation by The Associated Press showed that the cumulative effects of the ethanol-based energy policy and other tweaks in agricultural subsidies have resulted in more corn being grown to help meet the demand for federally required fuel blends. This is certainly a victory for farmers, because instead of an expansion of supply resulting in a drop in prices, the use of corn in ethanol has made the energy industry a competitor to food producers.
While ethanol may have been part of the solution to air and fuel woes of the 1970s, vehicle manufacturers have improved the efficiency of the engines on America's roads, and in some cases, replaced liquid-fuel burning engines with motors run on electric power. Such changes have decreased the pressure on fuel prices and increased the visibility of the air above our heads.
Congressional leaders have recognized this shift, and last week moved to lower the federal mandate on how much ethanol must be added to the nation's gasoline blends.
As technology improves, legislative leaders need to ensure the solutions of decades past don't become the problems for the country's future.