The Biden administration is implementing a temporary ethanol fix in a desperate attempt to reduce political fallout from skyrocketing gas pump prices resulting from its war on fossil fuels which will only add to inflationary food costs.

New EPA requirements will now increase the amount of the corn alcohol product that must be blended into the nation’s gasoline supply from 10% (E10) currently, to 15% (E15) over summer driving months between June 1 and Sept. 15.

Whereas EPA administrator Michael Regan claims the action “will help to reduce our reliance on oil and put the RFS program back on track after years of challenges and mismanagement,” the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers group, which represents refineries, called the plan “bewildering and contrary to the administration’s claims to be doing everything in their power to provide relief to consumers.”

The group argues that the mandates are unachievable, will increase fuel production costs, and keep consumer prices high. Increased artificial demand for corn will push up prices for the grain if the use of E15 throughout the year continues.

Consider food prices, for example.

Ethanol consumes more than 40% of the nation’s corn supply, an essential feed crop that sustains America’s dairy, beef, pork, and poultry industries. Most unfortunately, this escalating mandate-driven food price inflation puts the heaviest burdens upon our poorest citizens.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, more than 15 billion gallons of ethanol were produced in 2021.

The Renewable Fuels Association, a trade group that represents ethanol producers and some corn grower groups, estimates the new EPA mandate will increase the amount of U.S. E15 ethanol used by about 300 million gallons this year from about 814 million gallons sold in 2021.

If anyone tells you this added ethanol is an economic gift, don’t believe them.

Ethanol Yields Lousy and Expensive Gas Mileage: Although it typically sells for less than gasoline, a gallon of ethanol yields only 67% of its net energy, meaning about one-third fewer miles per gallon. On that basis, it has never been competitively priced.

Ethanol Affords Absolutely No Net Energy Benefit: Although ethanol has been touted as a “renewable” fuel, it is anything but that. It offers no net fuel-saving benefit whatsoever since it requires as much fuel to plant, fertilize, harvest, and process the corn into grain alcohol as it produces.

Ethanol Doesn’t Reduce Carbon Emissions: After CO2 emissions released in producing it and burning it in vehicles are accounted for, there’s not much difference, if any, compared with petroleum. What should matter to everyone, however, is that ethanol has a much lower energy density than gasoline, meaning that it yields fewer miles per gallon.

Ethanol Is Environmentally Destructive: Mandated ethanol use has prompted farmers to shift land use from balanced crop rotation practices in favor of an environmentally costly emphasis on corn production. This irrigation and fertilization-intensive development has depleted aquifers and has contaminated surface and subsurface water systems with nitrogen pollution.

Ethanol Corn Irrigation Requires Lots of Water: About 95% of U.S. ethanol production comes from corn grown in the Midwest, where in Kansas and Nebraska most of the crop irrigation is drawn from groundwater aquifers which are already stressed. The Ogallala Aquifer, which lies under the Great Plains and supplies 30% of the nation’s groundwater for irrigation, is in danger of running dry.

Ethanol Produces Unhealthy Smog: Typically, the federal government limits ethanol blends to 10% during summer months, to curb nitrogen oxide smog resulting in respiratory diseases caused by the E15 15% blend’s higher volatility.

Ethanol Plays Havoc With Small Engines: Ethanol is hygroscopic, meaning that it absorbs large amounts of water molecules that combine with petroleum to cause premature rust. It is also a powerful solvent that attacks rubber seals and plastic parts used in engine components, causing them to dissolve, stretch and wear out, or become dry and brittle.

Ethanol Eats Fiberglass Gas Tanks: A particularly troublesome issue for boat and fishing enthusiasts is the ethanol decomposition of fiberglass gas tanks. The usual fix involves tank replacement, often a costly and time-consuming project, although lining or sealing a tank is sometimes possible for added protection.

Even climate savior Al Gore has admitted that ethanol has failed to deliver on the benefits we have paid so dearly for through taxpayer subsidies, market-manipulation mandates and higher food prices.

During the Clinton-Gore administration in the 1990s, the industry got a huge boost when then EPA head Carol Browner banned use of the gasoline additive MTBE, leaving ethanol as the only option available under clean air laws. This amounted to a de facto mandate that required approval by Congress. Vice President Gore cast the deciding U.S. Senate tie-breaking vote in favor of passage.

Gore recounted the rationale for his pivotal 1994 decision four years later, stating, “The more we can make this homegrown fuel a successful, widely used product, the better off our farmers and our environment will be.”

Then, he later admitted to another influence: “One of the reasons I made that mistake is that I paid particular attention to the farmers in my home state of Tennessee, and I had certain fondness of the farmers in the state of Iowa because I was about to run for president.”

Later that month, at a gathering of clean energy financiers in Greece, Gore elaborated, “It is not a good policy to have these massive subsidies for first-generation ethanol … The benefits are ‘trivial’ … It’s hard once such a program is put in place to deal with the lobbies that keep it going.”

Chet Thompson, president and CEO of the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers, pretty much sums up the situation: “An additional three months of E15 sales won’t do anything to address high crude oil prices, and 98% of retail (gas) stations can’t even sell the fuel. This is politics, not a real solution for drivers.”

In short, ethanol represents a desperate and costly Democrat political strategy with no detectable benefits: no replacement for fossil fuel; no economic relief; and no environmental emission virtues whatsoever.

This piece originally appeared at Newsmax.com and has been republished here with permission. It has been edited to correct a misstatement of change in ethanol use from 2021 to 2022.