Al Gore Backtracks on Corn Ethanol

Whoops. Turns out Gore thinks he made a mistake; it wasn’t such a good policy in the first place. Who would have known that politicians, even ones as concerned with “saving” the world as Mr. Gore is, do not excel at picking technology winners and are subject to capture by special interests?

Via Reuters.

Though Mr. Gore cast the tie-breaking vote in support of the RFS, he can’t wave the same magic wand and undo the damage:

With a tie-breaking vote by Vice President Al Gore, the Senate upheld today an Environmental Protection Agency rule requiring that ethanol and other renewable fuels get a share of the gasoline additives market.

And here we are, 16 years later, with a still-increasing corn ethanol mandate and tax credit.

Gore makes a number of candid remarks about his intentions and the effect that lobbies have on “green” energy subsidies:

It’s hard once such a programme is put in place to deal with the lobbies that keep it going.

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 a certain fondness for the farmers in the state of Iowa because I was about to run for president.

One wonders if President Obama, given his tacit support, will make similar remarks in a few years.