Boaters may be getting a reprieve, at least for now of plans to increase the amount of ethanol in gasoline. Gas at the pump now contains up to 10% ethanol but the EPA was supposed to have decided by the 1st of December if they were to allow the use of up to 15% ethanol.
Although newer outboards and other gas engines can cope with ethanol in fuel many older installations cannot. Ethanol often called E10 contains solvents that eat away at some flexible hoses, seals and other parts of gasoline fuel systems. If the ethanol levels increase to 15% then any problems may be exacerbated.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said on Tuesday it needs more time to decide whether to approve an industry request to boost the amount of ethanol blended into gasoline.
The EPA was supposed to decide by Dec. 1 on a petition from Growth Energy filed on behalf of 54 ethanol producers to let gasoline contain up to 15 percent ethanol.
U.S. gasoline is now approved to contain up to 10 percent ethanol, which is made mostly from corn.
The U.S. ethanol industry was hard hit in 2008 by the economic downturn and a drop in crude oil prices to nearly $30 a barrel. Many companies were forced into bankruptcy and a large percentage of production capacity was idled.
Although the EPA and other groups are most concerned with the effects on the auto industry little thought has been given to the boating community. Although the fuel usage is tiny by comparison with the amount of gasoline used in road vehicles many boaters found themselves with hefty repair bills when ethanol was first introduced into gasoline. Any increase in the amount of ethanol could have further serious consequences for boat owners.
I'll keep you posted on developments.
The measurement methodology the EPA uses is flawed. It is biased toward a fuel that is less efficient but has less impact as a % on the environment. So you burn more fuel but as a % you put out less harmful (we can even argue about this measurement) stuff.
When are we going to refuse to accept bad science? The main problem I have is this bad science usually takes our eye off of real problems.
A good example is - recycle aluminum (one of the most common metals on the face of the earth that is not economical to recycle in most forms), we recycle glass (sand - need I say more), and we recycle plastic (breaks down over time - if you are located in the southern latitudes you can't argue this one), but we encourage the use of compact fluorescent lights that contain enough mercury that the EPA needs to be alerted if you break one.
Sorry about the soap box but the junk science is really getting on my nerves.
Posted by: peter | December 05, 2009 at 08:41 PM