This article explains how the new administration should decrease the amount of corn being used to create ethanol. In 2015 350 million barrels of ethanol fuel for cars was produced which in comparison to how much oil we consume is only about 18 days’ worth in the US or 1% of annual world oil consumption. Under the Renewable Fuel Standard ethanol production increased but the article argues it doesn’t have a great effect on the overall usage of oil.
If the Renewable Fuel Standard were to be repealed and corn-ethanol was not added to gasoline as regularly it could decrease some of the environmental issues but it could cause demand for corn to decrease more rapidly than it is now. So not only does corn-ethanol have drawbacks for the environment but it also creates fake demand for the product. But corn is renewable and oil is not so it still may be a more environmentally conscious even though ethanol is not as widely produced.
Orr, I. (2017, February 23). Advice to Trump: Make Ethanol Grain Again. Retrieved March 13, 2017, from http://www.investors.com/politics/commentary/advice-to-trump-make-ethanol-grain-again/
While repealing the Renewable Fuel Standard would help environmentally, do you think Trump would make a decision that would help the environment in any way, considering his stance on what type of energy the US should depend on?
I found this very interesting. But if this were to happen, wouldn’t this cause farmers to stop growing other crops and focus primarily on corn?