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 here, 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 voters 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) when they release their quarterly earnings early in August. You may be surprised.

Note: I have a long position in VSE.

Posted in Categories: Commodities, Contributor, External Research.

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