Blend this

US oxygenate statistics were released today, providing further evidence that we are using more and more ethanol in our gasoline.

MTBE began its near-overnight phase-out back in 2005, and since then, ethanol's production and usage has skyrocketed while MTBE has essentially been used in small markets and for the most part, exported.

This brings up quite a few issues when you pull back and look at the big picture of the US gasoline market.

Why did we make the switch to ethanol? Decrease our reliance on imported oil, perhaps. Reduce pollutants and lower our carbon emissions, maybe. There are many reasons, of course, but my gut tells me that the people with the ability to make ethanol really lobbied to get their product in our market.

The farmers really got their way, and seeing as we have a man running for leader of the free world from Illinois, a top-corn producing state, you can probably bet that

Granted, MTBE is indeed a potent chemical, but everytime you see 'MTBE' in the media, you get 'suspected carcinogen' right before it. The reason why you hear that it is harmful is not because the oil companies want to poison you, it's because corrosive underground storage tanks leaked the material in the groundwater.

Remember the movie, A Civil Action, with John Travolta? Same concept where pollutants from a chemical used by a tanning company leaked in the groundwater.

I'm not too sure where I am really going with this, but to me it just seems so DAMN silly that we are using our food for fuel.

Why couldn't they repair the tanks? Why can't we produce more switchgrass ethanol than corn ethanol?

It's easy to say that farmers would rather grow corn than cabbage if they can get more money for corn, and they are subsidized for doing it.

This country needs to learn sustainability and not wasting so damn much. Maybe then our air will be cleaner, but probably not.

It's well known that the air in SoCal is pretty filthy, and I will see first hand how polluted it is next week when I head to San Diego for the NPRA's annual meeting.

During this trip, I will journal many of my adventures, including a trip to the La Brea tar pits, and tips on how to travel greenly.