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EPA Increases Amount of Renewable Fuel To Be Blended Into Gasoline (arstechnica.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Last week the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced its final renewable fuel standards for 2017, requiring that fuel suppliers blend an additional 1.2 billion gallons of renewable fuel into U.S. gas and diesel from 2016 levels. The rule breaks down the requirements to include quotas for cellulosic biofuels, biomass-based diesel, advanced biofuel, and traditional renewable fuel. Reuters points out that the aggressive new biofuel standards will create a dilemma for an incoming Trump administration, given that his campaign courted both the gas and corn industries. While the EPA under the Obama administration has continually increased so-called renewable fuel standards (RFS), the standards were first adopted by a majority-Republican Congress in 2005 and then bolstered in 2007 with a requirement to incorporate 36 billion gallons of renewable fuel into the fuel supply by 2022, barring "a determination that implementation of the program is causing severe economic or environmental harm," as the EPA writes. Some biofuels are controversial not just for oil and gas suppliers but for some wildlife advocates as well. Collin O'Mara, CEO of the National Wildlife Federation, said in a statement that the corn ethanol industry that most stands to benefit from the EPA's expansion of the renewable fuel standards "is responsible for the destruction of millions of acres of wildlife habitat and degradation of water quality." Still, the EPA contends that biofuels made from corn and other regenerating plants offer reductions in overall fuel emissions, if the processes used to make and transport the fuels are included. "Advanced biofuels" will offer "50 percent lifecycle carbon emissions reductions," and their share of the new standards will grow by 700 million gallons in 2017 from 2016 requirements, the EPA says. Cellulosic biofuel will be increased by 81 million gallons and biomass-based diesel will be increased by 100 million gallons. "Non-advanced or 'conventional' renewable fuel" will be increased to 19.28 billion gallons from 18.11 billion gallons in 2016. Conventional renewable fuel "typically refers to ethanol derived from corn starch and must meet a 20 percent lifecycle GHG [greenhouse gas] reduction threshold," according to EPA guidelines. Other kinds of renewable fuels include sugarcane-based ethanol, cellulosic ethanol derived from the stalks, leaves, and cobs leftover from a corn harvest, and compressed natural gas gleaned from wastewater facilities.
The bored bureaucrats at the EPA need to feel useful. They create regulations that will later require more regulations to regulate further what has already been regulated.
The only way this would work is if everyone cooperates voluntarily.
- Jesus fucking Christ, no, I do not believe in voluntary cooperation, I only believe in self interest. Self interest. Self interest. Self interest. Self interest. Self interest.
Ok, now that we got that out of the way (repeat just in case once more: Self interest), try to understand this, a normal ancap or a libertarian does not in any way see people as something they are not. We see people for what they are: self interested, narcissistic, selfish, greedy, jealous, often brutal, sometimes murderous, but most importantly: looking for profit or again, self interest.
Do you understand what I am saying? I am saying again and again, people are interested in their own profit, they are driven by that.
Now, given those preconditions can some cooperation be expected? Certainly, you don't want to get shot, so you don't shoot others just for the hell of it. You don't want to be robbed, so you don't rob others (at least not openly). You may rob others, but most people would not be robbing because most people are not interested living in that type of constant stress. However some people will, which is why you absolutely do need private means of protecting yourself, and this includes private police, private insurance, private courts, weapons as well.
You can't have courts without enforcement, thus private enforcement that would work with private courts.
You can't handle the truth.