Unintended effects of the ethanol law

Ethanol was supposed to boost Oregon’s economy and clean our air — a pretty neat trick.

Turns out ethanol knows a couple other tricks that aren’t so neat.

Lowering your car’s gas mileage, for instance.

And raising your food prices.

And, possibly, dissolving plastic or rubber parts of your vehicle.

No wonder the Oregon Legislature was so enamored of ethanol.

But that was last year.

Several lawmakers who voted for a bill requiring gasoline sold in the state to contain 10 percent ethanol now say the law ought to be overturned.

The Legislature already has tinkered with the original version. During their special session this February, lawmakers made changes to ensure that ethanol-free gas is available for boats, antique cars, ATVs and other machines with motors that can’t tolerate the corrosive alcohol.

Ethanol’s problems are not insurmountable, though.

Much ethanol now is made from corn. But that means less corn is grown for food, which boosts prices not only for the food we eat, but for the stuff ranchers feed their livestock.

Newer technology, though, makes it possible to produce ethanol from a variety of non-food materials, including several crops as well as wood waste from logging.

That’s called cellulosic ethanol, and its potential is a main reason Gov. Ted Kulongoski was, and remains, bullish on the law mandating that gas be blended with ethanol.

Ethanol definitely burns cleaner than gasoline, so its environmental benefits are real.

And as modern vehicles, which can better  handle ethanol, gradually replace older models, the mechanical downside of the fuel will dissipate.

In the meantime, though, Oregon drivers, as Rep. George Gilman of Medford put it, will continue “suffering from the unintended consequences of this new law.”

Gilman, by the way, voted for the bill, along with 52 of his colleagues in the Oregon House. The bill passed the Senate by a vote of 24-3.

Frankly we don’t care that the Legislature didn’t intend the ethanol law to have such consequences.

We sort of hoped our lawmakers would have recognized the negative effects of the ethanol mandate before they mandated it.