“Doesn’t the wholesale reordering of our society demand at least a little bit of public debate? We think so.” (Heartland Institute)
“In a public debate, advocates can use all kinds of rhetorical tricks, as well as outright lies, to advance their cause. There’s no way to counter them in that forum.” (Andrew Dessler)
“All of the noise right now from the climate change denial machine, the bots & trolls, the calls for fake “debates,” etc. Ignore it all. Deniers are desperate for oxygen in a mainstream media environment that is thankfully is no longer giving it to them. Report. block. Don’t engage.” (Michael Mann)
Tonight, John Stossel is poised to host a debate in New York City between the climate alarmists and three chosen skeptics. It begins with the science and economics of the enhanced greenhouse effect and continues with public policy.
…This concludes the discussion/debate between ethanol proponent Marc Rauch and ethanol critic Michael Lynch. Part I was yesterday.
Lynch: Do ethanol blends burn cleanly? At one point, you say “ethanol is clean” but then later you admit “ethanol is hardly dirty”, which is precisely my argument. That it can be burned indoors is not evidence of its cleanliness, since kerosene lamps have long been used, and many people still have wood-fueled fireplaces. The faults you take with my citations from the EPA website treats them as if they were the only research on the question, rather than the only articles I cited. The EPA website has numerous links to studies showing that ethanol causes some types of emissions, such as formaldehyde, to increase, I did not choose to cite more than a couple.
Rauch The clearest proof of ethanol’s clean burn (as compared to gasoline) is the video I cited previously.
…Editor Note: An interesting historical note is that ethanol as a motor fuel was victimized by Prohibition, a subject discussed back in 2016 by Marc Rauch. In this discussion/debate, ethanol-proponent Rauch and ethanol-critic Michael Lynch share their thoughts on the quality and competitiveness of ethanol as a viable alternative to petroleum-based transportation products. Part II tomorrow concludes this series.
Lynch Technically, a wide variety of engines and fuels can be used to power vehicles, from steam and electricity to hydrogen and even water. At present, although compressed natural gas and electric vehicles are in use, most road transport remains powered by gasoline or diesel. For its part, gasoline must have a certain octane level or it burns imperfectly, creating engine knock. A number of additives have been used historically to ensure the octane rating is high enough for best engine performance, including lead, MTBE, and ethanol.
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