WANTED: American Auto Maker NOT in pocket of BIG OIL.

By: Alan Anderson

WANTED:  American Auto Maker NOT in pocket of BIG OIL.  Must have more interests in American people than it has in monetary deals with Oil companies.  Must be willing to support the production of vehicles that run on alternative fuels over carbon based fuel.  Such company must have highest respect for Mother Earth and the American environment. 

Is it too much to ask of a company to put the people that buy its product ahead of the corporate profits of a supporting company?  For well over 60 years the auto manufacturers in America have been under the pressure of Oil companies to manufacture cars and trucks that only run on petroleum based fuels.  In the early 2000’s the Energy Policy Act of 2005 amended the Clean Air Act to establish a Renewable Fuel Standard program.   The program is designed to encourage the blending of renewable fuels into our nation’s motor vehicle fuel. This rule establishes the annual renewable fuel standards, responsibilities of refiners and other fuel producers, a trading system and other compliance mechanisms, and recordkeeping and reporting requirements.   A renewable fuel is defined in the Energy Policy Act as a motor vehicle fuel that is produced from plant or animal products or wastes, as opposed to fossil fuel sources. Renewable fuels include ethanol, biodiesel and other motor vehicle fuels made from renewable sources. The program grants credit for both renewable fuels blended into conventional gasoline or diesel and those used in their neat (unblended) form as motor vehicle fuel. 

Since 2005, there have been many changes to the RFS.  But to sum it all up for our readers today it has basically been a money-maker for Oil companies and kept many ethanol refiners afloat.  The only true way that a real impact will reduce our greenhouse gas emissions is if we mandate to the reduction of carbon based fuels and increase the use of bio-based fuels made from feedstock not competitive with food crops.  This can only be done if Americans demand it from the government and from the Auto industry.  One group of Americans has found the source of the fuel which we can replace gas with we now just need the auto industry to supply the cars and trucks.  That new fuel will be supplied by ethanol made from Energy Beets and this will also help reduce the use of less efficient corn ethanol.

What needs to be done first is One Auto Manufacturer to make the leap from loyalty to Oil and stand for the American people and a cleaner less toxic environment.  It is quite simple to do for the auto companies, all cars and trucks made today have the ability to run on full 100% ethanol.  Oh, but you were told that you will get 10% worst gas mileage with ethanol than with gas?  Well of course you will if your engine it computerized to run on gas.  But with a small change to the ECM at the factory, E100 or as low as E85 will give you greater power with a 15% gain in MPG.  NASCAR this past year cleared over 3 million miles racing on E15 and what they have seen is better performance under some of the most demanding driving conditions. The lower blend of E15 delivered increased horsepower and performance without any negative side effects, mileage loss or engine damage.  So you see the auto industry isn’t stupid they have been planning for this for a very long time.  They know the end of the oil century is coming to an end very soon and they took preemptive measures.  Now that we have found enough biofuel to replace oil it is time that we make the change before the oil industry runs us into a global disaster far beyond our control. 

Here it is 2013, we look back at the long and rocky road we’ve had with oil and wonder why this has been the only option for America.  The U.S. has spent billions of dollars for decades to research biofuels, paid subsidies to oil companies for their services and to farmers to produce or not to produce inefficient crops for ethanol.  Research and development has been done for us for years and the results show that ethanol is the #1 option for replacing gasoline and biodiesel for replacing petrol diesel.  We know that ethanol has been used here in the U.S. for years as a supplement in gasoline, and starting in the last 10yrs the Flex Fuel Vehicle has come to the market using either E85 or gasoline.  These are not solutions to oil, these are band-aids used to piece together the lack of Fuel Policy.  We demand better than 30yrs of wishy washy inaction, mandated policy needs to be set now.  We all know politics and oil go together like milk and cookies.

There is only a few main subject to address Fuel Policy; engines, the fuels, the crops to make them.

1)       Vehicles with need to be capable of running on E100 pure ethanol, or pure biodiesel.

2)       Fuels to be renewable in large quantity and efficient, E100 made from sugar based crops and   not starch, and Biodiesel from crop oils.

3)       Crops that are the most suitable for E100 production are #1 Energy Sugar Beets  #2 Sugarcane #3 Sweet Sorghum  #4 Switch Grass

4)      Unnamed fuel sources are algae and other Biomass still in research.

Besides the obvious, here are the few main reasons why this change in needed NOW!

A.  American National Security: environmental and economic
B.  Climate Change caused by GHG emissions
C.  Fluctuating gasoline price manipulation
D.  Meeting government requirements for renewable fuel by providing
      large, stable market for ethanol.
E.  Because we are well behind the rest of the world in Oil Independence

Congress and the Senate of the United States and every U.S. State needs to seriously begin to mandate Renewable Fuel Policy or risk losing more American lives of young service members in the quest for more oil resources including right here in America and off our coast.

So in conclusion, what needs to happen in America to move into an Oil Independent nation is we need to change our current Energy Policy, Agriculture Policy and Automotive manufacturing Industry.  We need FFVs that run on E85 and E100 to be number one priority of the Auto Industry.    Our government also needs to put policy into place that mandates ethanol from sources other than starches.  Plus, mandate the Auto industry to produce engines to run on E85 and E100 in more than 50% of all their vehicles per year.  Energy beets to make E85 - E100 Ethanol and engines capable of producing 40 plus mpg and 15 % increased horsepower is what will make the U.S. an Oil Independent nation.

So with the other forms of energy such as Wind, Solar, and biomass fuel sources we can make the United States a real Energy Independent nation for us and our future generations to come. This will put us back on top as a World Power in technology and economics.

“It is not the strongest of the species
that survives, nor the most intelligent,
but the one most responsive to change.”
—Charles Darwin