Cutting Tax Breaks for Ethanol

Good news that may reduce the incredibly stupid subsidy for corn ethanol:

The Obama administration on Tuesday proposed renewable-fuel standards that could reduce the $3 billion a year in federal tax breaks given to producers of corn-based ethanol. The move sets the stage for a major battle between Midwest grain producers and environmentalists who say the gasoline additive actually worsens global warming.
…Although biofuels as a whole — including those made from grasses and even algae — are considered promising alternatives to petroleum, some researchers have begun challenging the use of corn for this purpose.
…The EPA rules proposed Tuesday include indirect land-use calculations in tallying emission. Many crops grown specifically for biofuels, such as switchgrass, pass the test easily. In many cases, corn and soy-based biodiesel do not.

Corn ethanol we already know to be a hugely inefficient fuel. An approach that evaluates the total environmental value of a biofuel and makes decisions to support either research or production based on that takes advantage of what we’ve learned in the ethanol age. If the EPA could come up with a support formula that has a cutoff based on research success or market viability we’d have a total winner. But all in all, this is a very big step in the right direction. One that corn farmers and processors will be lobbying fiercely over.