Will ethanol find new markets?

In the American Spectator, Eric Peters writes an interesting article about ethanol. There are some new uses for it other than adding it to gasoline here.

Turning CO2 into ethanol

Avery Thompson reports at Popular Mechanics,

Scientists at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee have discovered a chemical reaction to turn CO2 into ethanol, potentially creating a new technology to help avert climate change. Their findings were published in the journal ChemistrySelect.

The researchers were attempting to find a series of chemical reactions that could turn CO2 into a useful fuel, when they realized the first step in their process managed to do it all by itself. The reaction turns CO2 into ethanol, which could in turn be used to power generators and vehicles.

Read more here.

Principles vs. Pandering

It seems to me that the Ethanol issue in Iowa gives us a good chance to see a big difference in Ted Cruz and Donald Trump. Cruz is for phasing out the federal government subsidy of the ethanol industry by 2022. Trump supports it and wants an even bigger subsidy. Both need to win Iowa, the all important first state to vote. A whole lot of Iowans benefit from the ethanol subsidy. Cruz stood on his principles. Trump pandered to the ethanol lobby.

the renewable-fuel standards mandating ethanol is "one of the worst examples of corporate welfare in America."

Betsy Newmark notes that the Renewable Fuel Standard law

doesn't achieve its stated purpose and has all sorts of pernicious unintended consequences. Rather like Obamacare.

Read more here.