I also saw a lot of cars with Flex-Fuel logos on the back, and wished we had the same with our 2006 Toyota Sienna. But that was not an option.

This past weekend, Robert Zubrin wrote a great piece in the Washington Times calling for open fuel standards. The idea is to get more cars on the road that can handle a variety of fuels, whether it foreign-oil-based gasoline, domestic-and-renewable corn ethanol, or even methanol.  This would add about a hundred bucks to the price of the car and give us more energy independence, which means more energy security.

As Zubrin puts it:

“We are not addicted to oil. Our cars are addicted to oil. They are like a tribe of people who, because of some unfortunate flaw, can only eat one kind of food, say herring. Thus, if the herring merchants combine to rig up the price of their product to $100 per pound, the tribesmen have no choice but to submit. They would be far better off if they could become omnivores, capable of eating steak, ice cream, corn, eggs, apples, etc., as the power to use such alternatives would make them immune from herring-cartel extortion.”

It’s time to see more energy freedom on the roads — not just in the Corn Belt, but across the Land of the Free.

Photo: Zubrin autographs his book “Energy Victory” at the 2009 Commodity Classic.

 So, what is to be gained or lost by such skullduggery? Stockbrokers, bankers and oil investors jumping out of windows…sure, but what is the downside? (Insert sarcasm here).

 The comments in the UK’s respected Guardian stated that the IEA has inflated its 2009 report of oil reserves for fear that the truth would shock world markets into a reactionary panic. IEA is alleged to have put its role as an industry watchdog in the kennel for the time being to fend off a potential buying panic…even at the risk of being exposed for overplaying supplies and chances for finding increased reserves.

  On face value this might seem to be based on at least a modicum of twisted logic, but what are the ramifications for world governments who govern, plan and even invest based on IEA’s data? Consider that they also develop their own energy policies based on such essential information.

According to the Guardian’s high-level IEA source, estimates of global oil production growing from its current level of 83 million barrels per day to 105 million barrels per day are as bogus as the Tooth Fairy. The source said many IEA officials believe even 90 million barrels per day is unreachable, but the agency will not lower its forecast because it fears panic could spread through financial markets.

If we have indeed entered the “Peak Oil Zone” (that strange and unfamiliar place where we actually feel the pressure to get real about “energy policy” not oil policy) then it is time to fess up like an alcoholic at an AA meeting. “Hi my name is Joe Consumer and I have a petroleum problem.”

 Timing for such smoke and mirrors regarding oil supplies couldn’t be worse. How should this be coloring world climate talks in Copenhagen? Hmm…my noble indignation seems to be sputtering like my car as it runs out of gasoline.

 And then there is ethanol. The EPA is in the final stages of deciding if this nation should move to higher blend levels (15% ethanol). If the cheap oil petro palooza we have enjoyed for decades is over we might want to factor that into this critical discussion regarding the best/renewable, domestic solution available today.

 Corn farmers and the ethanol industry stand ready to produce and serve but they and the investment community need to get the word that it is full speed ahead for alternative energy sources. Given The Guardian’s report it would be foolish to allow big oil to continue to crank out just enough oil to manage their profits and squash emerging competition like ethanol.

 If the IEA is inflating oil production numbers then continued complacency is our worst enemy. So, call  your elected officials today…shoot, call your minister, your mother and your grocer for good measure and tell them we need higher ethanol blends now! Just don’t tell your banker or broker if you like them.

“The Lung Walk at the Milwaukee County Zoo is a great family event for a worthwhile cause that calls attention to the need for cleaner air and corn-based E85 ethanol fuel is recognized as the Clean Air Choice of the American Lung Association,” says Team Captain Nancy Kavazanjian, a corn grower from Beaver Dam. “Walking as the Green E85 Team is the perfect way to show people that our locally grown and produced ethanol fuel is helping clean up Wisconsin’s air quality while it also helps boost the state economy.”

The walk is a major fund-raising event that helps the ALA, the oldest nationwide voluntary health agency in the United States, fight lung disease through education, community service, public policy and research. As part of the year’s promotional efforts supported by Wisconsin’s corn checkoff, the Wisconsin Corn Promotion Board is the official sponsor of the Lung Walk’s Green E85 Team and paid for the commemorative T-shirts shirts for all team members. Badger State Ethanol, Didion Ethanol, United Ethanol and the UWGP ethanol plant, along with several individual corn growers made major donations to the Green E85 Team effort, helping meet the team fund raising goal of $1,500.

The Market Development Team of the Renewable Fuels Association stands near one of their banners during the 2009 Sturgis Rally at the Legendary Buffalo Chip Campground, just East of Sturgis, SD. www.ChooseEthanol.com

Thousands of Harley motorcycle riders from across the nation got an education on corn-based ethanol last week as Robert White and other representatives of the Renewable Fuels Association participated in the popular event known as Sturgis.

The effort to reach out to small engine and motorcycle enthusiasts about ethanol proved wildly successful with an estimated 500,000 consumers touched by the project.

T-shirts, information cards and good old fashioned face-to-face promotion provided ample opportunities to discuss the benefits of using a homegrown fuel. The key points being that it is a domestic product, it is cleaner-burning and it is made from renewable sources.

“We also had 25 static displays, which encouraged riders to, “Ride Safe, Fuel Right.” The event also provided a backdrop to launch a Sturgis Photo Contest at www.e85challenge.com, where riders can win $1,000 for submitting their favorite rally photo. Each night concert goers were able to see ethanol information on the jumbotrons during such acts as Toby Keith and Aerosmith,” White said.

“A cross-section of America attends this event and they shared something in common besides Harley motorcycles. They believed that having a renewable fuel like ethanol that is available today and can safely be used in their motorcycles is important,” he said.

Congratulations from the nation’s corn growers on this great effort.

Once a huge contributor to the nation’s energy needs, its contributions are in decline. In fact, the drilling rig count in Texas is down to 329 from 958 in August 2008, and employment dropped from 240,000 to 206,200.

Need more evidence? Oil production in Mexico has declined 12.8% in just one year, led by decline in heavy crude of 24,000b/d from April 182,000b/d from May 2008.

China’s oil demand up for 3rd month in June as latest data adds evidence that growth is resuming in the world’s second-biggest oil consumer. Chinese steel producers, which are energy intensive, are now operating at full capacity too so China may be on the verge of setting off another run-up in world oil prices.

Did anyone not see this coming?  If we were playing Jeopardy the answer would be:  “What are death, taxes, and higher gasoline prices?” Question: What are three things you can’t avoid?  Unless of course we embrace alternative solutions like renewable ethanol.

So it is high time for ethanol supporters to stop being defensive and using up all of our valuable energy putting out fires and defending the critic of the moment. Perhaps we should start reminding the public of the reasons we turned to ethanol to begin with: it burns far cleaner than gasoline, it works in today’s cars, it creates U.S. jobs and generates real economic activity, it isn’t imported from unfriendly nations, and of course it comes from corn which is abundant and yields are growing rapidly.

Unlike petroleum which is finite, ethanol has a future. With corn growers producing five times more corn today than they did in the 1930’s – and this before we had mapped the corn genome – so we are just beginning to unwrap the potential of maize. And the beauty of ethanol is many kinds of plant material will make continued production expansion possible in the years ahead.

So, let’s start our own drumbeat which demands higher mileage vehicles, one that demands all vehicles be flex fuel capable, one that calls for higher ethanol blends and rewards further development of alternative fuel engine technology, and one that exposes the real costs of our continued reliance on imported petroleum for 60% of our oil needs.

Let’s all raise our voices and ask for a thorough accounting of all costs related to finding, developing, refining, transporting and defending our access to petroleum. Let’s add on environmental costs and the big one that nobody wants to talk about…health costs. Medical costs related to poor air quality boggle the mind, just ask your local Lung Association.

Here is an example of a hidden cost to get your thought process going. Just this year alone, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will spend $200 million to clean-up leaky underground storage tanks for petroleum. This program has been going on since 1985 and there are approximately 617,000 underground storage tanks (USTs) nationwide that store petroleum or hazardous substances.

With a little transparency from the Big Oil guys and some thorough detective work by the Congressional Research Service, I think we would rapidly see what a bargain ethanol is today.

Six ethanol blender pumps were unveiled last week providing flexible-fuel vehicle owners with the option of using E85, E30, E20 or the traditional E10 blend of gasoline. “If you drive a flex-fuel vehicle, you don’t have to fill up with E85 all the time,” said Jon Holzfaster, chairman of the Nebraska Corn Board. “You can choose your ethanol blend based on price, performance and availability. That’s why they’re called ‘flexible.”

Higher blends of ethanol are key to realizing the full benefits of this domestically produced, renewable fuel, Holzfaster said. “The more flex fuel vehicles we have—and the higher blends of ethanol available across the nation—the more we generate economic strength for Nebraska and our entire nation, reduce our expensive and dangerous dependence on imported oil, and improve our environment,” said Holzfaster.

A computer sensor automatically compensates for varying levels of ethanol in the gasoline. The pumps were installed at the Bosselman’s station on Allen Drive in Grand Island. Bosselman’s plans to install more blender pumps in the state, with the next planned for stores at Ainsworth and Chappell.

Last year the NIU team placed 6th place overall and received the rookie of the year award running on E85 ethanol. This year the team hopes to finish in the top three with a 2007 500cc Turbo Charged Yamaha Phazer.

The “challenge” of each competition has been for students to modify a stock snowmobile to meet a series of requirements, including air pollution levels. Last year, snowmobiles were required to run on E85 ethanol. This year, snowmobiles can run on any blend of gasoline and ethanol up to 85 percent, making these true flex-fuel vehicles.

The SAE Challenge is a yearly collegiate competition that started in 2000 and is held every year to test the engineering and design capabilities of students from schools across the country.

During the Beaver Dam event, the first 85 Flex Fuel Vehicle (FFV) owners who purchase 8.5 gallons or more of E85 between 10 a.m. and noon at local Cenex Store September 20 receive a $20 Cenex gift card courtesy of the Wisconsin Corn Growers Association. This is the latest in a series of events celebrating E85 and marking the 100th anniversary of the American Lung Association of the upper Midwest.

“E85 fuel is recognized as a Clean Air ChoiceTM by the American Lung Association of the Upper Midwest, so it is very appropriate that we celebrate our organization’s anniversary – and 100 years of better breathing – at the same time the state is marking its 100th E85 fueling station,” says Dona Wininsky, Director of Public Policy and Communications for the Lung Association.

“With gasoline prices approaching $4 per gallon, American consumers must realize that ethanol and the country’s Renewable Fuels Standards are part of the solution for rising food and energy costs,” says Randy Woodruff, president of the Wisconsin Corn Growers Association. “Americans are saving billions of dollars at the pump thanks to biofuels and several recent studies have disproved big oils contention that corn prices are driving up food prices.”

Zubrin contends that by mandating that all new vehicles sold in the U.S. be flex fuel we would effectively break the economic stranglehold the oil cartel has on the country and the world.

During last month’s Fuel Ethanol Workshop in Nashville, Zubrin made his point by using the analogy of a card game where there is a trump suit that defeats all others and the strategy is for your side to hold most the cards in that trump suit. “It’s the same way in energy,” Zubrin said. “There’s four suits, there’s oil, coal, natural gas and biomass. And right now oil is the trump suit.”

That’s because right now there is mainly one way to power vehicles and that is petroleum products. The key is to change that trump suit, he says, and biomass is the best alternative. The question is how to change the trump suit and Zubrin contends that the answer is to mandate the sale of flex fuel vehicles, which would cost at most $100 per vehicle. “If we had a standard that all new cars sold in this country had to be flex fuel, within three years we’d have 50 million cars on the road in the United States capable of running on alternate fuels,” and Zubrin says that would ultimately result in flex fuel vehicles being sold all over the world.

Others are picking up on Zubrin’s idea on their own, like columnist Clifford May of the National Review Online, and even talk show host Bill O’Reilly. Hopefully, the idea will eventually get to Washington.

Listen to Zubrin’s entire address to the 2008 FEW here and get fired up: