Not the Environmentally Friendly Administration as Americans Thought

In an effort to combat the rising cost of fuel, the Biden Administration is suspending a federal rule that will allow the sale of higher-ethanol gasoline this summer.

Most gasoline sold today in the United States has a 10% mix of ethanol however the Environmental Protection Agency will suspend a rule and allow a 15% blend of ethanol to be sold. The reason the rule is for a 10% blend is that in warmer weather a higher mix of ethanol creates smog.

Senior Biden officials claim this ethanol blend will save drivers ten cents per gallon.

While newer cars are capable of running on the current E10 which is a 10% ethanol blend, older cars may experience significant damage to their engine. Ethanol which has been touted as being an environmentally friendly alternative to gasoline is not necessarily as environmentally friendly as advertised.

According to Yale Environment 360, there are environmental problems with using Ethanol which is derived from corn. Higher-ethanol blends still produce significant levels of air pollution, reduce fuel efficiency, jack up corn and other food prices, and have been treated with skepticism by some car manufacturers for the damage they do to engines. Growing corn to run our cars was a bad idea 10 years ago. Increasing our reliance on corn ethanol in the coming decades is doubling down on a poor bet.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, vehicles typically go 3 to 4 percent fewer miles per gallon on E10 and 4 to 5 percent fewer miles per gallon on E15, because ethanol packs only about two-thirds of the BTU’s of gasoline.

The Environmental Protection Agency noted that "E15 in vehicles could lead to increases in emissions that result in vehicles exceeding certified emission standards and issues with materials compatibility as auto manufacturers likely did not use components compatible with ethanol in fuel systems,"

This begs the question If this administration is so environmentally friendly, why are they purposely increasing carbon dioxide output? Not to mention, that it will destroy the engines of especially older cars as well as engines that run on gasoline. All this for ten cents a gallon. Perhaps Biden can re-open the energy sector to save Americans money instead of ruining the environment and people's personal transportation.