In the jagged terrain of ethanol politics, Gov. Scott Walker, presidential candidate, is finding it hard to find his footing. And hard not to look politically opportunistic to people who follow this issue.
Walker has shifted his position on the federal ethanol mandate, telling an Iowa audience in March that he would support the federal Renewable Fuel Standard but might phase it out in the future. The program requires transportation fuel sold in the U.S. to contain a minimum amount of renewable fuel _ usually ethanol made from corn.
Count us as ethanol skeptics. Ethanol is more expensive to produce and in some cases takes more energy to produce than is saved, though it does cut tailpipe emissions. There also is a potential effect on the food supply as corn is diverted for ethanol production. We have long supported renewable fuels – and renewable energy of all kinds – but ethanol is an imperfect solution.
And, as the Journal Sentinel’s Jason Stein noted in an article (last week), the mandate divides Wisconsin corn farmers and biofuel makers from dairy farmers worried about the price of feed and makers of small engines whose products won’t work with higher ethanol blends. Those blends aren’t approved for use in motorcycle engines, either, which is why the American Motorcyclist Assoc. opposes the spread of the E15 blend that is 15 percent ethanol and 85 percent gasoline.
The ethanol mandate was aimed at reducing American reliance on imports of oil and was based on the idea that ethanol would be better for the environment while helping corn producers in the Midwest including Wisconsin.
But more domestic production of oil, higher fuel-efficiency standards for vehicles and a reduction in miles driven have all combined to make the use of ethanol less urgent.
U.S. Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, a Menomonee Falls Republican, has proposed a bill that would revoke the current government approval for E15 fuel pending further testing. We support the bill and wonder if it isn’t time to eliminate the mandate altogether.
As Walker courts voters in the Corn Belt, he shouldn’t lose sight of his principles, which would seem to dictate that he also support the end of the mandate.
