Biodiesel SCAM

[hammersley]

Article in this Month's Light and Medium Truck Trade mag - page 7

Dear Editor:
I am amazed at the number of consumers who wrongly
I believe that using biodiesel or ethanol reduces the import of
Mideast oil and reduces energy dependence. In fact, the oppo-
. site is true. The fossil fuel to grow, harvest, transport and refine
the corn into ethanol and soybeans into biodiesel exceeds the
energy released in burning the fuel in a vehicle.
The definitive technical paper on the inefficiency of biofuels
from food crops by Cornell University and the University
of California-Berkeley authors confirms that ethanol uses 29%
more fossil fuel than gained in the vehicle, and biodiesel uses
27% more energy. Biofuels from food crops are neither green,
sustaining, clean or renewable. The energy waste is even much
worse with biofuels from biomass, such as forest products.
Biofuel from crops serves three masters: the 50% of net
income welfare subsidy to farmers; the federal subsidy to the
refiners; and the Big 3 [automakers] who can build more gas I
guzzlers using the [corporate average fuel economy] credits I
from E85-capable vehicles that, in fact, seldom use [85%
ethanol fuel]. We can't take money from the road-building
funds to subsidize inefficient biofuels and then expect to maintain
roads.
This must rank as one of the biggest frauds of consumers
perpetuated by the federal and state governments, farmers and
the Big 3. It delays efforts to reduce oil imports by conserva- I
tion and smaller vehicles, and conversion to energy and emission-
efficient diesel engines.
Sincerely,
JosephJ Neff
Retired Chief Engineer
Cummins Engine, Peterbilt Motors, Gillig Corp.