Energy policy fact of the day

The tax credit for ethanol is an example of a cost ineffective subsidy.
The cost of reducing CO2 emissions through this subsidy exceeded $1,700
per ton of CO2 avoided in 2006 and the cost of reducing oil consumption
over $85 per barrel.

I am not shocked, but it is worse than I had thought.  Here is the full paper.  But the funny thing is, that’s not even the worse thing I read about biofuels today.  Courtesy of Daniel Akst, try this article:

…a growing body of scientific evidence suggests these gasoline
alternatives will actually boost carbon-dioxide levels and thereby
aggravate the problem of global warming. A study published in
the latest issue of Science finds that corn-based ethanol, instead of
reducing greenhouse-gas emissions by a hoped-for 20%, will nearly
double the output of CO2 and other gases that trap the sun’s heat. A
separate paper in Science concludes that the clearing of native
habitats around the world to grow more biofuel crops will lead to more
carbon emissions.

Or try this ungated version of a similar result.  Wonderful.