American ethanol producers are now exporting ethanol to Abu Dhabi, off all places. Yet, with 80 million gallons exported in the first quarter of this year to countries around the globe, the ethanol industry is still looking to taxpayers for continued support. Matt Hartwig of the Renewable Fuels Association tells the Lincoln Journal Star, "Let's create a market here, so we can use every drop of ethanol we can produce." As production has increased, the industry has lobbied the EPA to increase the amount of ethanol in gasoline from 10% to 12 or 15% to absorb the industry's overproduction. If ethanol hasn't been able to create a market here after decades of generous taxpayer subsidies, artificially-created markets, and tariffs that keep out foreign ethanol, one has to wonder when ethanol is finally going to take off in the marketplace.
