Biofuels - a vote-buying farm subsidy since 1930

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Biofuels - a vote-buying farm subsidy since 1930

Friday, September 11th, 2009 | Best Of, Environment |

News from 1930: “Germany requires gasoline to be blended with 2.5% alcohol to benefit potato farmers.”

There wasn’t any environmental rationalization for Germany’s decision in 1930 to require gasoline to contain 2.5% alcohol. The politicians were just throwing the farmers a bone. That’s the the same reason politicians support biofuels today. The environmental patter is for the suckers.

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1 Comment to Biofuels - a vote-buying farm subsidy since 1930

theirritablearchitect
September 11, 2009

It’s still a concern today in Germany, and sadly, it’s even more of a problem than gasoline (benzin, as they call it) since there is a crop that is raised specifically for its oil content, for diesel.

The rapeseed plant (a brilliant yellow flower on a thin, wiry stem that resembles a weed) gets subsidized through a tremendous gasoline tax, making the diesel lower cost at the pump for the consumer, while giving the farmers of the country the cash raised through the tax for raising that crop.

Needless to say that diesels are popular over there, and gasoline engines are usually very small displacement turbocharged mills for increased economy.

Insane.
theirritablearchitect´s last blog ..Yet more of what I was talking about