Let’s start by taking the argument that the ethanol tax credit (VEETC) benefits the oil industry, not the ethanol producer. If that is the case (which it isn’t all the time), then how can environmental groups be faulted for opposing it?

On the other hand, your claim that the ethanol tariff confers “subsidies that actually go to the oil industry” makes no sense. A tariff on a product such as ethanol raises the domestic price of that product, benefitting domestic producers of that product, especially when combined with a government mandate forcing a minimum level of consumption of that product.

Your assertion that the environmental movement ignorred subsidies to the oil industry and did not hold it accountable for their greenhouse gas emissions would be hillarious if it were not so astounding. Clearly you have done no research on the activities of the environmental movement, or choose to be blind to its efforts. Environmental groups, including Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace, have been attacking oil subsidies and oil pollution (and GHG emissions) for decades.

And, by the way, most estimates I see of subsidies to U.S. oil and natural gas place the numbers in the range of at most tens of billions a year (significantly less per gallon than the VEETC), not hundreds of billions a year. Are you perhaps confusing U.S. oil subsidies with estimates of global subsidies (mainly provided by developing and emerging economies) to keep consumer prices of fossil-fuels artificially low?

“In essence, the environmental movement is preserving our dependence on dirty fossil fuels.” No it isn’t: it is fighting for the proper pricing of fossil fuels (which would encourage conservation), improved transport efficiency, and improved non-fossil-fuel transport options (including bicycle infrastructure). Many environmental groups are not opposed to truly sustainable biofuels.

That all said, I would welcome an across-the-board analysis of all the potential energy strategies and solutions on the table, and even a Congressional enquiry into the actions of environmental organizations. While we’re at it, let’s also increase the transparency on all the biofuel lobbying organizations, and their hired guns in academia and among certain consultants.

Your video doesn’t make sense. VEETC has never had anything to do with ethanol plants. It’s a “blenders credit”. What it would affect is domestic production of ethanol in America based on foreign ethanol market penetration making the United States dependent on both oil and ethanol, moving our jobs and dollars out of the country.