A few months back, an old friend and editor who graciously brings you this online journal every week, asked me to continue to write “opinion” pieces for this publication. I humbly agreed and thus have enjoyed sharing my thoughts with the readers of the Kansas City Tribune.

For several years I was reporter and photojournalist working for many different publications—from the largest to the smallest—nobody really cared about my opinion—mostly they just politely nodded their heads---reminding me about journalism tenets of presenting “just the facts” and “fair and balanced” reporting. I did my best to hold my tongue and not let my personal points of view influence my writing or photos. Thankfully for me, and my few readers, those days are gone.

Recently I wrote a highly critical article on the ethanol industry and all of the sudden I was the object of attacks from ethanol supporters who said, “Gee Mr. Starling, but you don't know what you are talking about.” and accused me of being a “supporter of everything hydrogen for years” or lumping me in with the oil companies and giant agri-food producers. Yuck! I felt dirty, slimed and maligned.

My editor told me I should write something to defend myself. I decided to let it alone and focus on the stimulus bill that was just passed this week. I guess there aren’t many people out there ready to jump on me about criticizing Republicans, so I will briefly make an ethanol industry update and respond to my many critics.

First off, as a point of courtesy—one should never tell someone you disagree with that they don’t know what they are talking about. It’s just rude and doesn’t help your argument. No matter how effective it seems to work for Mr. Limbaugh and Mr. O’Reilly.

Long time ethanol user and patriot Jim said, “Save American soldiers, sailors, airmen and marine's lives- buy E85- not gasoline.” Well mister Jim, who insists I’ve been a hydrogen man for years—must have been reading my thoughts.

I would go out tomorrow and buy an E-85 vehicle, except I wouldn’t qualify for a loan and I live in New York City, arguably the largest city in America—and there is NOT ONE E-85 ethanol pump within the city limits. Yes Jim, drive your car everywhere but here, because if you run out of gas in NYC you’ve got to hoof it through the boogie down Bronx to get your ethanol upstate or on the Garden State Parkway. Good luck with that!

I rather appreciated the response of T.S.—ASC Master Car Technicians’ rebuttal was presented in a calm and precise manner, stating ethanol was safe for cars to run. I liked it except when you referred to my hypotheses as “uneducated and ignorant”.

“To malign ethanol just because it is currently made from corn is ludicrous. To say ethanol is bad for the environment is both uneducated and ignorant. To assume ethanol cannot be sustained and is economically a disaster, well that is looking at it through oil filled goggles. No it won’t fit the paradigm of oil with a single source and be utterly controllable by a very few.” ---T.S.

Well let me take my “oil filled goggles” off and address T.S.’ points with facts.

The Associated Press recently reported a safety recall of about 214,500 Lexus vehicles sold by Toyota Motors in the U.S. that affects the GS300/350, IS250/350, and LS460/460L vehicles from model years 2006 through 2008.

According to the recall report, Ethanol fuels with a low-moisture content cause the defect. “(Ethanol) may corrode the internal surface of the fuel delivery pipes, resulting in a fuel leak over time. The pipe corrosion may trigger the malfunction indicator light.”

Lexus is offering its customers free replacement of the fuel delivery pipes, known to us shade tree mechanics as the fuel lines, leading to the carburetor. Ethanol may be safe for some engines but has been known to cause engine problems for years. I always wondered what that check engine light did! It’s an ethanol detector!

Finally, T.S. VeraSun Energy Corp., the second largest U.S. ethanol producer that was mentioned in my original article for declaring bankruptcy, appears to have found a suitor; Valero Energy Corp, an oil company. It’s seems that oil companies are finally seeing the value of grabbing up defunct ethanol companies—for what the Washington Post called “pennies on the dollar”. Wow, these petroleum filled goggles work great!

My estimation is that oil companies will swallow cash strapped corn ethanol producers in order to control the production stream of the government mandated petrol-ethanol mixture, currently at 10 percent nationwide. I am sure the evil oil companies will be painting their trucks green and lining up for the “blending tax credit” offered to companies who use American made corn-based ethanol. Helpful hint: They’re receiving it already; this way they can now receive producers tax credits as well! Vulture capitalism and corporate socialism blended for your convenience!

"To this point, we've just been buying it, not producing it," said Bill Day, Valero's spokesman in the AP article. "But once we realized that ethanol is likely to remain an important part of the fuel mix here in the United States, we decided to start looking at opportunities to produce it as well."

And maybe that is where the market for ethanol will shake out in the future. It’s unlikely that U.S. environmentalist and climate scientists will swallow higher corn-based ethanol mixtures; something the U.S. industry must seek to find a market for federal mandated production levels. Currently the U.S. renewable fuel quota is 11.1 billion gallons of renewable fuel to be blended into gasoline this year, with that number climbing to 36 billion gallons by 2022.

Problem is this industry is in crisis, along with all the other alternative energy fledgling markets, like wind turbine and solar panel producers. Fewer banks with less money, and tighter credit restrictions are forcing layoffs across once strong alternative fuel sectors.

Without significant financial stimulus immediately, real clean and green alternatives may never get the same amount of assistance already given to corn-based ethanol producers.

There was talk of a “Green Energy Bank” in the coming stimulus designed to back loans for producers and more tax credits for consumers, who make their homes more energy efficient.

“The National Clean Energy Lending Authority, or "green bank," would offer loan guarantees to renewable energy projects that have already attracted private capital but are endangered because of the credit crisis and the drop in oil prices.” –The Washington Post

Sounds like a good start as long as its board isn’t stacked with petro-agri-conglomarates, who favor U.S. corn based ethanol and petroleum based building products over non-C.F.C. based “green” building products and zero carbon emission energy production like wind and solar.

I will, in ethanol’s defense, state that it has been a success in replacing MTBE, a fuel additive found to be a ground water pollutant, making ethanol a practical, useful ingredient in most reformulated gasoline. But to hail it as the viable alternative to gas flies in the face of the current circumstances and past indicators.

Since I was criticized for quoting a study from a Stanford University scientist, I decided I would choose one a little closer to the Midwest so as to not appear to be coast-ly biased.

Below Michael Boland, professor of economics at Kansas State University, describes what is called the “blend wall”; the point where production of ethanol will outstrip demand for the product, leaving no market unless mixture standards are raised, a move opposed by the E.P.A.

“The Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) mandates use of 15 billion gallons of ethanol by 2015. Given that flex-fuel vehicles are primarily driven in regions where E85 is not available, almost all of this15 billion gallons will be consumed as a 10 percent blend unless the EPA decides to allow higher blends.

At a 10 percent blend, 15 billion gallons of ethanol would be blended with 135 billion gallons of gasoline. Unless total motor fuel consumption grows substantially in the next few years, nearly every gallon of gasoline will need to be blended at a 10 percent blend to meet the RFS. But it would be quite costly to blend every U.S. gallon of gasoline with ethanol.

Ethanol is already being shipped to all the low-cost and most of the medium-cost blending locations. Continued large price discounts will be needed to attract investment in blending capability and ethanol transport to the remaining locations. Furthermore, a portion of the U.S. population apparently does not want to use ethanol blends in vehicles.

Convincing these people would require hefty price discounts. It seems inevitable that the United States will hit an economic "blend wall" before the 15-billion-gallon mandate is met.”

For some involved in ethanol, they have already seen enough. This new “green” future has them seeing red. That’s red ink!

On Feb. 3rd, the CEO of MGP Ingredients, Inc., Tim Newkirk, released a statement that the Atchison, Kansas based distiller was leaving the ethanol business as part of the plan to return the company to profitability.

"Factors such as extreme and sporadic swings in ethanol demand, volatility in raw material prices for corn, and the impact of volatile oil and gasoline prices have made it increasingly apparent that the fuel grade alcohol market is not one in which we currently can create value for the company and our stockholders on a sustainable or predictable basis," he was quoted in an AP article.

Last week, Vancouver-based Lignol Energy Corp. announced it was on the soft pedal towards its plans to build a Colorado cellulosic ethanol plant The Lignol project with partner Suncor Energy—an oil company, had been awarded a grant of $30 million from Bush’s Department of Energy.

Someone call the authorities! Canadians are getting American tax incentives for ethanol! Oh I am sorry. I forgot. Even our energy independence is to be outsourced in this new, Greener America! Thanks for all the comments! Keep them coming!