Majority of Americans prefer ethanol
Renewable Fuels Association poll results
The Renewable Fuels Association contracted a pair of polling firms to survey voters beliefs on ethanol as a renewable fuel. Two firms were selected to get both Democratic and Republican opinion. The opening paragraph of the report, linked above, gives the results:
The on-going campaign to force the nation to revisit and reduce its commitment to ethanol has failed to move most American voters. A recent bi-partisan survey of 1,200 registered voters shows that by a 2:1 margin, the public supports increased use of ethanol in our nation’s fuel supply. This majority crosses party lines, capturing conservatives and environmentalists alike. Voters largely blame the rising cost of food on fuel prices; less than one in ten blame the expanded use of ethanol.
59% of votors support increased use of ethanol while 30% oppose. The survey oversampled environmentalists and in that group 63% supported increasing ethanol production. Also, voters polled believe higher oil prices are causing increased food prices by a margin of 71% to 17%.
It appears the anti-ethanol campaign has failed to sway the American voting public, so I doubt elected officials will be changing the current laws regarding ethanol. My contention that ethanol is a growing integral part of the U.S. motor fuel infrastructure continues to strengthen. Those that think corn based ethanol will soon be history are in the wrong (and smaller) camp.
As this is an investment oriented site, take a look at VeraSun Energy (VSE: 0.28 0.00 0.00%) when they release their quarterly earnings early in August. You may be surprised.
Note: I have a long position in VSE.
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Comments
Chris, thanks for the well thought out comment. You kind of make my point in reverse. No business in America is “unfettered” by government intervention. And with a majority of the public, at least from this poll, supporting ethanol, what group of politicians will change the status quo? So if you look at the ethanol companies based on reality, they make sense as investments. IMO.
1200 people is hardly a survey, especially when they don’t state who was polled and where the poll was taken[Iowa corn farmers?]. In my little world, I’m not aware a single person who is in favor of corn-based ethanol.
If you watch politics closely, you will find 1200 is a very typical number for this type of poll. Outside of your “little” world ethanol provides 1,000s of jobs, good incomes for 100,000’s of farmers and keeps gas prices low and cleans the air. Maybe you should expand your horizons a bit?
In my opinion polls don’t really mean much. I believe a far superior way to gauge what people want is by their *actions*.
And this is done by either buying (or not buying) ethanol in the marketplace.
If the ethanol companies are profitable, then it is sign that true demand exists. If they are not profitable, then they are squandering scarce resources, and the resources should be used on something more desirable.
So I believe actions speak louder than words.
One caveat, if the ethanol companies are to make it, then they should do so on their own merit. That is, no government assistance. If the polls are true, there should be no problems.
Once government comes in and tilts the tables in one direction or another, we have an artificial situation…a fantasy.
If an alternative energy source is really desired, then it needs to pass the *unfettered* market test.