Biofuels group says ethanol could numb gas-price bite
The Canadian Renewable Fuel Association, appearing before a Special Parliamentary committee studying surging gas prices, called on the federal government to mandate that all gasoline by 2010 contain 10 per cent ethanol. The group argues that embracing ethanol would provide some relief for consumers at the pumps, with the assumption obviously being that, as far as high gas prices are concerned, we ain’t seen nothin’ yet.
“A significant part of the solution to today’s high gas prices lies within our grasp,” said Kory Teneycke, executive director of the CRFA, adding that the “E10 by 2010″ initiative is a “realistic and achievable goal. It would diversify our energy supply, add to our refining capacity, and help moderate price.”
The assocation says ethanol can be easily integrated into our existing fuel infrastructure. Unfortunately, of the 40 billion litres of gasoline consumed in Canada every day only 300 million litres are renewable — less than 1 per cent. “A virtual crude monopoly and severely limited gasoline refining capacity have made Canadian consumers extremely vulnerable to disasters such as Katrina and Rita,” according to the group.
Call the group opportunistic, but the point is valid.
Tyler Hamilton is editor-in-chief of Corporate Knights magazine and a business columnist for the Toronto Star, Canada's largest daily newspaper. In addition to this Clean Break blog, Tyler writes a weekly column of the same name that discusses trends, happenings and innovators in the clean technology and green energy market. This blog is a personal project started in April 2005. It is not an official blog of the newspaper.
September 28th, 2005 at 10:11 pm
A failure of economic thinking is that the price of gas is determined by demand and supply and hence the government cannot do anything about the rising prices. I show that a tax can be so structured to reduce the price of gas received by foreign producers from $65 to $30, while providing the US economy a stimulus of over $100 billion a year. Additionally this would reduce gas consumption and global warming. Please read the complete article at: http://econstimulusgastax.blogspot.com/ and share with your friends.
October 16th, 2005 at 5:41 pm
Embracing ethanol should provide the consumer with some relief at the pumps but it doesn’t. With the high costs of gasoline one would think people would be flocking to fill their tanks with ethanol. Why aren’t they? Because the cost of ethanol is equal to the cost of gasoline. When the gasoline prices made their huge leaps recently, so did the cost of ethanol.
With no monetary savings, why would consumers embrace ethanol? A clean environment is important, but so is cost at the tank. Also, many people are unsure whether they can use ethanol in their cars. I have been told that I could use 100% ethanol in my 1990 car, but today I read that this might put a strain on the car’s engine. No one seems to offer any clear information.
If the powers-that-be really want to clean up the envirnment they need to first lower the costs of ethanol as further incentive to get people off their gasoline dependency, and then create an advertising campaign that clearly explains ethanol and it’s benefits to the environment. Appeal to the heart AND the pocket book.