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| April 17, 2018 Post 92 |
| Just In Time For The Boating Season |
Do you have an Atomic Four or an Outboard? Please read this.
Lake Log readers who recall the one hour doc we did in 2016 after a Kickstarter campaign, already know that corn ethanol is not good for the Great Lakes. Subsidies to corn production have ramped up acreage on erodable hill sides and encouraged tiled fields and other production methods that lead to increased nutrient runoff and hazardous cyanobacteria blooms.
Much of the toxic bloom problems on Lake Erie have been linked to these new gov subsidized agricultural practices. Now in my e mail lands the following headline.
BoatUS Warns Against President’s Proposal to Sell E15 Year-Round
Boater’s group asks boat owners to speak up now
ALEXANDRIA, Va., April 17, 2018 – A proposal by President Trump to allow the sale of E15 (15 percent ethanol) gasoline year-round has set off alarm bells at the nation’s largest boating advocacy group, Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS).
E15 is prohibited by federal law for use in recreational boat engines (like the four cycle outboard in our trailer sailor). It voids many marine engine warranties, and is currently banned for sale by the Environmental Protection Agency during summer months over concerns that it contributes to smog on hot days. Under the President’s April 12 proposal, however, a waiver to the Clean Air Act would permit the sale of E15 in the summertime at the same roadside gas stations where most recreational boaters refuel their trailered vessels.
“We are very disappointed,” said BoatUS Manager of Government Affairs David Kennedy. “The proposal to sell E15 during the boating season is a recipe for misfueling in the highest order and a giveaway to the big ethanol and corporate farming interests at the expense of America’s middle-class boaters…. if a waiver is granted, it would dramatically increase the chances of E15 getting into a boat
“With ethanol, boaters continue to pay the price with increased repair bills, lower fuel economy and poor reliability,” added Kennedy.
A study by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory conclusively demonstrated that E15 damages boat engines, and 92 percent of readers of a prominent boating industry publication reported in 2017 that they have seen damage caused by ethanol.
A 2016 Harris Poll found that 64 PERCENT (!!!!!) of consumers were not sure or DID NOT PAY ATTENTION to the type of gas they used. (I have added emphasis to BOAT US release).
Boaters have long suffered under the Renewable Fuel Standard’s (RFS) mandate to increase the volume of ethanol in the nation’s fuel supply. BoatUS is asking boaters for help on the issue by posting a message to their congressman’s or senator’s Facebook page urging for RFS reform. This can easily be done by going
Note to Log readers please cut and paste or go direct to your rep"s website and SQUAWK! this is bad for the lake,the bays, and gas powered boats and dinghies.
“As more ethanol-blend fuels fill up the pumps, the fuel that most boaters want for safe operation is being pushed out of the market,” added Kennedy.
As a further note to readers the ecology and carbon footprint of E 15 is pretty awful. It takes a vast amount of diesel fuel and petrochemical fertilizers to produce corn. It is Not by any stretch of the imagination renewable. The only “green” aspect is that it makes the water green ( as in photo above) and adds to the number of little green rectangles with Ben Franklin on them that are going to the big Corp. processors like ADM and Con Agra. So yes, tell your federal representatives this is a really bad idea even as it will make Towboat U.S. more profitable!