Automotive: Tree-Hugger Ethanol greater Contributor to Global Warming than Gasoline

A recent study indicates that corn-based ethanol is a greater contributor to global warming than unmixed gasoline.

Per a report from Reuters, a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that ethanol is at least 24 percent more carbon-intensive than gasoline as a result of land use changes to grow corn, as well as processing and combustion.

Fresh Iowa Corn. When tree-huggers tell you something is more environmentally friendly, you can bet it is all about creating jobs for their people. When in doubt, follow the money.

The five-year study was partially funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and National Wildlife Federation.

“Corn ethanol is not a climate-friendly fuel,” said assistant scientist at University of Wisconsin-Madison Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment and lead author of the study, Dr. Tyler Lark.

The recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that the expansion led to the tilling of cropland that would otherwise be retired or enrolled in conservation programs. The tilling of fields releases carbon, as does other farming activities, such as the use of nitrogen fertilizers.

Of course, in response, Geoff Cooper, president and CEO of the tree-hugger Renewable Fuels Association, an ethanol trade lobby, characterized the new study as “completely fictional and erroneous,” saying that the authors looked at “worst-case assumptions [and] cherry-picked data.”

Yeah right!

Oh and those battery powered electric vehicles?

According to a GM document filed with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency this week, the 2022 GMC Hummer EV Pickup Edition 1’s battery pack tips the scales at 2,923 pounds.

The battery alone weighs more than a Chevy Cruze LS Automatic.

There is so much pollution to build that Hummer, and its battery, and even more pollution to dispose of the battery at end of life, that it is very likely more environmentally unfriendly than a regular gasoline powered car given how little today’s cars pollute.