The Auto Channel has been a proponent of ethanol for quite some time and has given favorable coverage to the fuel. This week, Executive Vice President and Co-Publisher, Marc J Rauch, took it up a notch in defense of ethanol. In his piece, “The Auto Channel Fights for the Truth about Ethanol Versus Gasoline,” Rauch writes, “Bob [Gordon] and I have studied the issue of alternative fuels and energy and we’ve become very enthusiastic supporters of all the technologies…But most of all, we like ethanol. Why? Because ethanol can be used right now, anywhere in the U.S., and by most vehicles without any engine conversions.”

He then talks about higher ethanol blends and says that the reality is most conventional vehicles can use up to E50 without conversions and without being official flex-fuel vehicles. (For those of you following the E15 Waiver, the latest news is that E15 will probably pass but with a stipulation on what model years can use the fuel.) He then goes on to state that while many don’t believe that there is a ’single bullet’ solution, he and Bob disagree and believe that ethanol, or alcohol fuel, is the solution to replace gasoline.

However, where it starts to get really interesting is when Rauch reiterates, “But the point of this story is to tell you about our fight to overcome the lies and misconceptions about ethanol that are promulgated by the oil and gasoline industries.” It looks like more and more people are finally seeing through the ethanol smear campaign that has been heavily active for the past three or so years.

Yet the highlight of the story is when Ruach takes on some anti-ethanol “experts” who came to light when consumers pointed to them as criticisms for his and Gordon’s support of ethanol. David Fridley, a scientist at the Lawrence-Livermore Laboratory in Northern California, and Jerry Taylor, a Senior Fellow at the CATO Institute in Washington, D.C. who was featured in a John Stossel story (20 Minutes) and also the author of, “An Economic Critique of Corn-Ethanol Subsidies.”

Rauch writes, “After watching the Stossel/Taylor and Fridley videos I sent them both emails expressing how appalled I was at their lack of knowledge and recitation of lies, and offering various facts that contradict their statements.” Rauch published his correspondence with Taylor and it is a great piece of ethanol education for anyone who wants to learn more about the fuel.

So for you ethanol advocates out there, take a piece out of Rauch’s playbook (I don’t think he’ll mind if you’re spreading the good word about ethanol) and help him fight the good fight for ethanol. You can read Rauch’s piece in full, with supporting documentation here.

Popularity: unranked [?]

The grand openings of new ethanol pumps are being celebrated Friday in two different states – one big on corn ethanol, the other not so much.

Illinois legislative officials and corn ethanol representatives will be opening the first blender pump in southern Illinois. The pump in Sullivan is the first of 20 such pumps planned in the state in a pilot program approved by the Illinois Department of Agriculture with funding from the state Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity and the Corn Marketing Board.

Meanwhile, out in California, Pearson Fuels will join Oak Valley Chevron to celebrate the grand opening of the first E85 fuel station in Beaumont in the San Jacinto Valley.

Oak Valley Chevron is part of Pearson Fuels’ statewide roll out of new E85 stations throughout California, starting with its original station in San Diego. The E85 facilities were partially funded by the California Air Resources Board.

Pearson brought the first Ethanol station to the state of California when it opened its San Diego station in 2003 as the world’s first Alternative Fuel Station featuring 10 different fuels. Today it specializes in bringing alternative fuels to the public throughout California.

Popularity: unranked [?]

Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Joe Lieberman (I-CT), and John Kerry (D-MA)

A mix of electric cars, natural gas and offshore drilling. Can it pass?

If the American Power Act becomes law, it could mean a whole new round of subsidies and tax credits for green cars, and aggressive cuts to emissions. The bill would aim to gradually slash greenhouse gas emissions by at least 4.75 percent by 2013, 17 percent by 2020, 42 percent by 2030 and 83 percent by 2050.

But the legislation also includes an offshore drilling expansion that many thought was all but dead in the wake of an explosion at a drilling platform off the coast of Louisiana that killed 11 workers and sent millions of gallons of oil gushing into the ocean. The agency in charge of regulating offshore rigs now stands accused of illegally rubber-stamping some drilling proposals, including the approval it gave to the Deepwater Horizon rig involved in the recent spill.

The repeal of a ban on offshore drilling off the Eastern seaboard has led to threats from congresspeople like Sen. Bill Nelson to vote against the bill, and highlights a discrepancy in the administration’s energy goals.

On the one hand, President Obama and Energy Secretary Steven Chu have been fervent supporters of electric vehicles and have backed up their words with billions of dollars in grants for the fledgling industry. On the other, the administration seems to think that more drilling, increased supply and cheaper oil are, at the very least, political necessities to a successful energy policy. While government incentives may be capable of helping to get the first EVs rolling off of the assembly line, many analysts expect the general public to remain ambivalent about hybrids and electrics until gas prices rise significantly.

read more

Popularity: unranked [?]