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3 Fact Checks You Should Read
Posted 10 April 2015 in
From ethanol subsidies that don’t exist to drawing incorrect conclusions from shaky research, Big Oil and its allies have been busy this week — spreading outright lies and misinformation about biofuels and the Renewable Fuel Standard. Luckily, organizations like Media Matters for America and the Renewable Fuels Association have been holding them accountable. Check out some of the best fact checks from the past week in this round-up.
The Motley Fool Criticizes Ethanol Subsidies That Don’t Exist
The multimedia financial services company The Motley Fool criticized ethanol for allegedly relying on government subsidies — despite the fact that subsidies for corn ethanol, which comprises the vast majority of ethanol used in the country, ended years ago.
Read the fact check from Media Matters for America.
Study: Big Oil Tells the EPA One Thing & Shareholders Another on the Renewable Fuel Standard
A new study published this week by University of Calgary professor James Coleman shows that for years, Big Oil hasn’t been completely honest about the RFS. They’ve been telling the EPA one thing (that the RFS is a horrible, economy-killing law) and telling their shareholders another thing (that it’s no big deal).
Read the full story in the Des Moines Register.
Study Based on Shaky Foundation of Faulty Data and Conclusions
A recent study published in Environmental Research Letters by authors at the University of Wisconsin uses error-prone satellite data to suggest that growth in U.S. corn and soybean production from 2008 to 2012 drove massive conversion of grassland, forest, and other “native” lands to cropland. The authors attribute these purported land conversion events, in part, to “increased demand for biofuels.”
However, contrary to the study’s results, there is no empirical evidence to support the argument that U.S. cropland has expanded since 2008, let alone that large tracts of native grassland and forest have been converted to crops.
Read the fact check from the Renewable Fuels Association.
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