Corn: it's not just for dinner anymore- except for your engine
In the past few months I've been focused on Liberty issues- things like unconstitutional driver's license laws and working to restore the rights of motorists in Florida. This past week, I learned of some new legislation that will be a great benefit to all of us that use an internal combustion engine. As I told the Senators in a hearing, my concern was not so much that of a Liberty lobbyist, but more as one that collects and restores cars and motorcycles. Not to worry, there's a Liberty tie-in, so keep reading.
Back when you could still buy an honest-to-goodness made in the USA (not Canada) muscle car, you could go to your local gas station and put some high-octane leaded fuel in it. I recall Sunoco having like 6 different numerical grades of gas. Around this same time came the 1970's, Richard Nixon, the oil crisis, unleaded gas, Jimmy Carter, Newt Gingrich, and a heap of alphabet agencies like the EPA (1970) and DOE. Take your pick- that acronym is good for both the Departments of Education (1979) and Energy (1977). Mr. Nixon gave us the EPA and Mr. Carter gets the credit for the other two, with an assist from Mr. Gingrich for the Dept. of Education.
What this has led to several decades later is the EPA compelling the states to pass legislation that will allegedly help the environment. Sound familiar? It should, since Homeland Security did this with REAL ID. As with most federal legislation that lacks constitutionality, this one has given us unintended consequences. In 2008, the Florida Legislature passed a law that mandated most gasoline would have a 10% Ethanol content- there were exceptions for boats, motorcycles, and some other off-road type vehicles. This was done to comply with federal coercion, oops, legislation since it was believed Ethanol would allow for better use of our natural resources and a cleaner environment.
Here's the problem: It can't, it hasn't, and it won't. Yes, it burns cleaner, but you have to burn a lot more of it to go as far as you could on gasoline. Then there are the side-effects.
Ethanol is commonly extracted from corn. It's a form of alcohol, and is a sugar-rich product. The main issues with it involve corrosiveness and that it does not produce the energy of gasoline. Blending the two merely dilutes the gasoline. The unburned Ethanol remains in the combustion chamber (sugar does not burn), which causes the engine to operate less efficiently. There are specific racing applications using Ethanol, but these types of vehicles are not practical for street use. Back to the problems:
- Due to the lower energy content, a 10% mix of Ethanol in real-world applications show a reduction in fuel economy of about 10%. Keep the acronym CAFE in mind, and I'll get back to it later. Ethanol has been mixed to be as much as 85% of the fuel- this product is called E-85 and can be used in "flex fuel" vehicles. Most gas sold in Florida is E-10, or 10% Ethanol.
- Ethanol does not like many metals, notably aluminum. Many components like carburetors and cylinder heads are cast from aluminum to save weight. Saving weight gives better fuel economy. Still wondering about CAFE? Hint: It's not about food. Oh, and those "flex fuel" vehicles? They nave to have expensive stainless steel fuel lines and systems to combat the super-corrosiveness of the E-85.
While passing some time at Wal-Mart tonight (married men will understand the code here), I was reading a motorcycle magazine. An article caught my eye. The author, a motorcycle mechanic, was talking about a bike he looked at. It was a 2002 Kawasaki with just a few thousand miles. This would usually command a great price, but when he opened the gas cap, he saw it had corroded away due to Ethanol sitting in the tank, and the tank was also damaged beyond repair. Neither of those parts were still available, so unless used parts could be found, the whole bike was ruined. That was a less than 10 year old bike. My favorite bike that I ride is now 30 years old, and I despise running corrosive Ethanol blend fuel in it. You have to run an additive to overcome the effects of the Ethanol. I've lined the tanks of the other bikes I've rebuilt to help with this issue. I could share many other examples of damage done to fuel systems and engines, but I won't fill up this post doing so. Suffice it to say Ethanol is bad news.
So what does CAFE mean? It's the Corporate Average Fuel Economy mandated by the federal government upon car makers. What it means is they have to sell cheap (or not so cheap: Volt/Prius) small crappy cars that get really good gas mileage so they can sell other cars & trucks that most people actually want to buy. If the government deems a vehicle is a "gas guzzler" it slaps a huge tax on it. A few years back, had I bought a 6.1 liter SRT Challenger instead of the 5.7 liter R/T model, I would have had another $1700 added to the price due solely to this law. So now on one hand, we have the government mandating that cars get better gas mileage, and on the other mandating a fuel that reduces gas mileage and destroys engines. How exactly does one stay in business making cars? Attentive citizens will know the answer to that one- except for Ford, our domestic automakers were bailed out by the taxpayer a couple of years ago. Excessive federal regulations have played a part in this situation. I've written about this here on another page.
Is there a light at the end of this tunnel? Maybe just a glimmer. It's H 4013 by Rep. Matt Gaetz and S 238 by Sen. Greg Evers. Frequent readers will recognize the latter name as the sponsor of our driver's license bill in the Florida Senate this year. Sen. Evers has a good grasp on the Liberty issue, specifically the 10th Amendment.
What these bills will do is to give gas retailers the freedom to sell unblended gasoline or Ethanol blended gas. Estimates were that pure gas would cost between 10 and 20 cents more per gallon. The benefit of course is that you go farther on each gallon, and your fuel is not eating away the internal parts of your engine and fuel system.
What can you do? Like any good bill, get behind it and ask your legislator to support it. They have to hear from you. These two are in the committee process, and I'm pleased to report S 238 passed it's first committee hearing virtually unopposed- only one Senator voted against it. I was able to testify at that hearing along with several of my friends. It was interesting to note the main concern from the Senators was the same one I've heard about REAL ID: It's federal law, so we have to do it. In my testimony, I explained that unless it was covered under Article 1 Section 8 of the Constitution, it was an unconstitutional federal law, and we DID NOT have to do it. Under the 10th Amendment, we as a state have the authority to regulate our gasoline, just as we have the authority to issue our driver's licenses. This concept is neither Democrat nor Republican, and it appears many in the Legislature here and in other state legislatures are awakening to this fact- several of the yes votes that day were from Democrats.
Think of these bills as fuel at a gas station for Liberty: I say fill 'er up!
About Paul Henry
Paul has a law enforcement background, having served as a Florida Deputy Sheriff and State Trooper for over 25 years until he retired. He worked many levels and positions within the FHP, from road patrol trooper to lieutenant in criminal investigations, where he investigated numerous criminal cases. After retirement, Paul wished to pursue his automotive hobby and be left alone, but saw an increasing amount of waste in government as well as the government's increasing involvement in our private lives and liberty, so he became politically active. Paul is the founder of the non-partisan citizen's group Floridians Against REAL ID, and authored two bills for the 2012 Florida legislative session: REAL ID partial repeal and Motorist Rights (red light cameras). Paul is the 2013 Legislative Action Committee Chair for The Tea Party Network, a network for constitutional and Tea Party groups to do more than just complain about issues. Paul works as the Deputy Director for Legislative Affairs with the Florida Campaign for Liberty and lives in the Tallahassee, Florida area.
Ethanol- It’s Not Good for Our Vehicles or Our Liberty
Corn: it's not just for dinner anymore- except for your engine
In the past few months I've been focused on Liberty issues- things like unconstitutional driver's license laws and working to restore the rights of motorists in Florida. This past week, I learned of some new legislation that will be a great benefit to all of us that use an internal combustion engine. As I told the Senators in a hearing, my concern was not so much that of a Liberty lobbyist, but more as one that collects and restores cars and motorcycles. Not to worry, there's a Liberty tie-in, so keep reading.
Back when you could still buy an honest-to-goodness made in the USA (not Canada) muscle car, you could go to your local gas station and put some high-octane leaded fuel in it. I recall Sunoco having like 6 different numerical grades of gas. Around this same time came the 1970's, Richard Nixon, the oil crisis, unleaded gas, Jimmy Carter, Newt Gingrich, and a heap of alphabet agencies like the EPA (1970) and DOE. Take your pick- that acronym is good for both the Departments of Education (1979) and Energy (1977). Mr. Nixon gave us the EPA and Mr. Carter gets the credit for the other two, with an assist from Mr. Gingrich for the Dept. of Education.
What this has led to several decades later is the EPA compelling the states to pass legislation that will allegedly help the environment. Sound familiar? It should, since Homeland Security did this with REAL ID. As with most federal legislation that lacks constitutionality, this one has given us unintended consequences. In 2008, the Florida Legislature passed a law that mandated most gasoline would have a 10% Ethanol content- there were exceptions for boats, motorcycles, and some other off-road type vehicles. This was done to comply with federal coercion, oops, legislation since it was believed Ethanol would allow for better use of our natural resources and a cleaner environment.
Here's the problem: It can't, it hasn't, and it won't. Yes, it burns cleaner, but you have to burn a lot more of it to go as far as you could on gasoline. Then there are the side-effects.
Ethanol is commonly extracted from corn. It's a form of alcohol, and is a sugar-rich product. The main issues with it involve corrosiveness and that it does not produce the energy of gasoline. Blending the two merely dilutes the gasoline. The unburned Ethanol remains in the combustion chamber (sugar does not burn), which causes the engine to operate less efficiently. There are specific racing applications using Ethanol, but these types of vehicles are not practical for street use. Back to the problems:
While passing some time at Wal-Mart tonight (married men will understand the code here), I was reading a motorcycle magazine. An article caught my eye. The author, a motorcycle mechanic, was talking about a bike he looked at. It was a 2002 Kawasaki with just a few thousand miles. This would usually command a great price, but when he opened the gas cap, he saw it had corroded away due to Ethanol sitting in the tank, and the tank was also damaged beyond repair. Neither of those parts were still available, so unless used parts could be found, the whole bike was ruined. That was a less than 10 year old bike. My favorite bike that I ride is now 30 years old, and I despise running corrosive Ethanol blend fuel in it. You have to run an additive to overcome the effects of the Ethanol. I've lined the tanks of the other bikes I've rebuilt to help with this issue. I could share many other examples of damage done to fuel systems and engines, but I won't fill up this post doing so. Suffice it to say Ethanol is bad news.
So what does CAFE mean? It's the Corporate Average Fuel Economy mandated by the federal government upon car makers. What it means is they have to sell cheap (or not so cheap: Volt/Prius) small crappy cars that get really good gas mileage so they can sell other cars & trucks that most people actually want to buy. If the government deems a vehicle is a "gas guzzler" it slaps a huge tax on it. A few years back, had I bought a 6.1 liter SRT Challenger instead of the 5.7 liter R/T model, I would have had another $1700 added to the price due solely to this law. So now on one hand, we have the government mandating that cars get better gas mileage, and on the other mandating a fuel that reduces gas mileage and destroys engines. How exactly does one stay in business making cars? Attentive citizens will know the answer to that one- except for Ford, our domestic automakers were bailed out by the taxpayer a couple of years ago. Excessive federal regulations have played a part in this situation. I've written about this here on another page.
Is there a light at the end of this tunnel? Maybe just a glimmer. It's H 4013 by Rep. Matt Gaetz and S 238 by Sen. Greg Evers. Frequent readers will recognize the latter name as the sponsor of our driver's license bill in the Florida Senate this year. Sen. Evers has a good grasp on the Liberty issue, specifically the 10th Amendment.
What these bills will do is to give gas retailers the freedom to sell unblended gasoline or Ethanol blended gas. Estimates were that pure gas would cost between 10 and 20 cents more per gallon. The benefit of course is that you go farther on each gallon, and your fuel is not eating away the internal parts of your engine and fuel system.
What can you do? Like any good bill, get behind it and ask your legislator to support it. They have to hear from you. These two are in the committee process, and I'm pleased to report S 238 passed it's first committee hearing virtually unopposed- only one Senator voted against it. I was able to testify at that hearing along with several of my friends. It was interesting to note the main concern from the Senators was the same one I've heard about REAL ID: It's federal law, so we have to do it. In my testimony, I explained that unless it was covered under Article 1 Section 8 of the Constitution, it was an unconstitutional federal law, and we DID NOT have to do it. Under the 10th Amendment, we as a state have the authority to regulate our gasoline, just as we have the authority to issue our driver's licenses. This concept is neither Democrat nor Republican, and it appears many in the Legislature here and in other state legislatures are awakening to this fact- several of the yes votes that day were from Democrats.
Think of these bills as fuel at a gas station for Liberty: I say fill 'er up!
About Paul Henry
Paul has a law enforcement background, having served as a Florida Deputy Sheriff and State Trooper for over 25 years until he retired. He worked many levels and positions within the FHP, from road patrol trooper to lieutenant in criminal investigations, where he investigated numerous criminal cases. After retirement, Paul wished to pursue his automotive hobby and be left alone, but saw an increasing amount of waste in government as well as the government's increasing involvement in our private lives and liberty, so he became politically active. Paul is the founder of the non-partisan citizen's group Floridians Against REAL ID, and authored two bills for the 2012 Florida legislative session: REAL ID partial repeal and Motorist Rights (red light cameras). Paul is the 2013 Legislative Action Committee Chair for The Tea Party Network, a network for constitutional and Tea Party groups to do more than just complain about issues. Paul works as the Deputy Director for Legislative Affairs with the Florida Campaign for Liberty and lives in the Tallahassee, Florida area.