Trump loosens restrictions on ethanol, increases smog

Trump loosens restrictions on ethanol, increases smog

There is an election coming up and the farm vote matters.

Ethanol has been added to gasoline since the oil crisis of the 70s. Everybody knew that making alcohol from corn wasn't very efficient, but energy independence from OPEC was more important, and hey, it was just a phase before cellulosic ethanol replaced corn. After the crisis, was over, federal and state governments kept those farmers planting corn with subsidies and here we are, 40 years later, still putting food in our gas tanks.

Selling gas with 15 percent ethanol (E15) wasn't allowed in summer months; it raises the vapor pressure of the fuel. In warm weather it evaporates more quickly and leads to greater smog formation and greater concentrations of surface ozone, which causes inflamed lungs, impaired immune systems and heart disease.

But that's mainly concentrated in cities where there are lots of cars and they are probably full of Democrats. Out in Iowa, the farmers have been suffering because of trade battles with China and tariff wars with Canada and there is an election coming, so the President is lifting the ban on summer use of ethanol. According to Reuters:

“My administration is protecting ethanol. ... Today we are unleashing the power of E15 to fuel our country all year long,” Trump told a cheering crowd of supporters at a rally in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

© Scott Olson/Getty Images

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