

It’s the power of a voting class. Origins are geopolitics of 70s oil crisis. Then vote buying of rural areas. Most of the legislative giveaways were titled “clean air something”. There is a food security argument for grains (livestock is a food battery, and ethanol is surplus monetization)
There is a high oil-related cost portion of corn farming. Close to $300 of the $650/acre is fertilizer ($225), tractor fuel, pesticides. The last 4 years of corn farming losses is also during low NG price. The minimal profit before rent-equivalence can go negative at higher NG price, because ethanol is only blended into gasoline when gasoline is expensive, and then corn only bought for cheap when it is not. The US always has a high oil price policy, and geopolitical insecurity to achieve it. Weapons-oil industry is deep state establishment pushing for war and higher oil prices, and more corn helps, and politicians are rewarded with larger bribery war chests.
Energy insecurity for Americans comes from relying on geopolitical manipulated energy subscription to live/operate. Farmers need export markets, which makes it good for them for US to not be hated by all of their markets. US oligarchy is also invested in high electricity prices/profits for incumbents. Datacenter bubble is ideal oligarchism alliance with tech.
The point of my post is that farming/rural areas can be weaned from the oil oligarchy voting block. Much cleaner air argument. Genuine energy security that comes from 0 reliance on future geopolitics/supply chains. Better corn prices if some corn farmers switch to solar. Lower oil prices if less of it is wasted on farming and cars. Lower electricity prices and abundance to fund whatever skynet priority to better kill us all, but without us going broke first.


Renewables transition needs new distribution. Electric grid system in US especially and west in general has extremely poor supply chain for new transformers. If there is an effort in transmission/distribution expansion, an H2 economy is very competitive to electricity. Delivery by truck is feasible for rural homes. If new electric transmission costs 10c/kwh (existing national average charge is about 8c/kwh), then a $2/kg delivery charge is competitive. Pipelines would be 20c/kg, equivalent to 1c/kwh transmission charges.
Policy supports extortionist monopolists with incumbent climate terrorist fuels, and structurally made to stay that way, until we agree on whether war on Minnesotans is good or bad, and can move on to examining structural corruption issues.