“The Earth Is the Lord’s” -- Arbor Day vs Earth Day

In 1872, right here in the state of Nebraska, a journalist turned politician began a campaign that he hoped would help stabilize and beautify the rather sparse landscape of his state.  The man was a Nebraska City resident who believed that such a campaign would be a good idea in other places too.  And it was.

J. Sterling Morton’s call for tree husbandry was answered by the National Agricultural Convention meeting in St. Louis that year and by numerous municipalities, newspaper editors, and thousands of citizens.  The result was that the very first Arbor Day, April 22, saw almost a million trees planted.

But though J. Sterling Morton was a tree planter extraordinaire, he was not a tree hugger.  His attitude towards the natural world was the traditional one; namely, that the earth was the Lord’s and man, acting as God’s servant, was to effectively oversee nature, to subdue it in a rational way, to beautify it, and properly benefit from it.

Morton was thus acting in accordance with the biblical mandate -- the program originally given to Adam in the garden of Eden -- a call to responsibly appreciate, nurture, and enjoy the created things with which God had adorned the earth.

And most of the people who answered the challenge of Arbor Day were operating in the same spirit.  They were planting trees because trees were good things.  They bore fruit that man could eat.  They helped with soil conservation and provided protection from wind.  And they were pretty.

These people understood that trees were pleasant and productive plants, but they were for man’s use.  They were good things, not fellow souls.

Indeed, J. Sterling Morton (a conservative Democrat who served as Secretary of Agriculture under Grover Cleveland and whose son became a prominent Republican who was Secretary of the Navy under Theodore Roosevelt) was a faithful Episcopalian.  His understanding of the monumental difference between man (created in the express image of God) and nature (created for the enjoyment and benefit of man) was part of the basic Christian worldview.

The kind of conservation ethic he represented was rational, healthy, far-seeing, and well-rooted in sound environmental ideas.  It was the same enlightened conservation ethic of farmers like George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, of visionaries like Johnny Appleseed, and conservation champions like Teddy Roosevelt and George Bird Grinnell, and other sportsmen who led the way in establishing our national parks and wildlife refuges. It was part of the longstanding tradition of taking care of the environment for man’s use -- not for nature’s sake.  It was the perspective of the farmer, the rancher, the hunter, and fisherman that we all be responsible and take care of the environment in order that man -- both in the now and in the future -- may be best served.   

Thus, Arbor Day was (and, by the way, still is) a responsible event, one that calls for individual volunteer efforts rather than government coercion.  In fact, the people associated with Arbor Day are decidedly apolitical.  “The only stand we take,” says an official with the Arbor Day Foundation, “is that it’s a great thing to plant trees.”  No demands for government intrusion.  No insistence on group think.  No call for Nanny State regulations and taxes. No worshipping Gaia or Mother Earth.

What a dramatic difference this is from the “holiday” that has tried to bully its way over and past Arbor Day, the extremely political, propagandist, and manipulative event that pirated the same day, April 22, and now tries to crowd out the very memory of Arbor Day. That event of course, is Earth Day. Or as the United Nations calls it -- International Mother Earth Day. To be sure, this newly-invented, politically-charged “holiday” is often dominated by socialist (even pantheistic) tenets and, therefore, absolutely ignores who the true heroes of American environmentalism are; namely, those hunters, fishermen, and other genuine conservationists mentioned earlier. 

And, of course, International Mother Earth Day also ignores the innumerable passages in Holy Scripture which deal with God as the Creator and Sovereign King of the earth...and those which testify to the glory of Almighty God that is revealed in His creation...and those which exhort men to carefully serve as responsible stewards of the natural order...and the eventual destruction of the earth which occurs not through man’s ecological failure, but rather by the holy judgment of God. 

The last item, by the way, occurs just before God creates a new heaven and, yes, a brand new earth. 

International Mother Earth Day vs Arbor Day? For the Bible-based Christian, the choice is an obvious and easy one.

“The Earth Is the Lord’s” -- Arbor Day vs Earth Day

In 1872, right here in the state of Nebraska, a journalist turned politician began a campaign that he hoped would help stabilize and beautify the rather sparse landscape of his state.  The man was a Nebraska City resident who believed that such a campaign would be a good idea in other places too.  And it was.

J. Sterling Morton’s call for tree husbandry was answered by the National Agricultural Convention meeting in St. Louis that year and by numerous municipalities, newspaper editors, and thousands of citizens.  The result was that the very first Arbor Day, April 22, saw almost a million trees planted.

But though J. Sterling Morton was a tree planter extraordinaire, he was not a tree hugger.  His attitude towards the natural world was the traditional one; namely, that the earth was the Lord’s and man, acting as God’s servant, was to effectively oversee nature, to subdue it in a rational way, to beautify it, and properly benefit from it.

Morton was thus acting in accordance with the biblical mandate -- the program originally given to Adam in the garden of Eden -- a call to responsibly appreciate, nurture, and enjoy the created things with which God had adorned the earth.

And most of the people who answered the challenge of Arbor Day were operating in the same spirit.  They were planting trees because trees were good things.  They bore fruit that man could eat.  They helped with soil conservation and provided protection from wind.  And they were pretty.

These people understood that trees were pleasant and productive plants, but they were for man’s use.  They were good things, not fellow souls.

Indeed, J. Sterling Morton (a conservative Democrat who served as Secretary of Agriculture under Grover Cleveland and whose son became a prominent Republican who was Secretary of the Navy under Theodore Roosevelt) was a faithful Episcopalian.  His understanding of the monumental difference between man (created in the express image of God) and nature (created for the enjoyment and benefit of man) was part of the basic Christian worldview.

The kind of conservation ethic he represented was rational, healthy, far-seeing, and well-rooted in sound environmental ideas.  It was the same enlightened conservation ethic of farmers like George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, of visionaries like Johnny Appleseed, and conservation champions like Teddy Roosevelt and George Bird Grinnell, and other sportsmen who led the way in establishing our national parks and wildlife refuges. It was part of the longstanding tradition of taking care of the environment for man’s use -- not for nature’s sake.  It was the perspective of the farmer, the rancher, the hunter, and fisherman that we all be responsible and take care of the environment in order that man -- both in the now and in the future -- may be best served.   

Thus, Arbor Day was (and, by the way, still is) a responsible event, one that calls for individual volunteer efforts rather than government coercion.  In fact, the people associated with Arbor Day are decidedly apolitical.  “The only stand we take,” says an official with the Arbor Day Foundation, “is that it’s a great thing to plant trees.”  No demands for government intrusion.  No insistence on group think.  No call for Nanny State regulations and taxes. No worshipping Gaia or Mother Earth.

What a dramatic difference this is from the “holiday” that has tried to bully its way over and past Arbor Day, the extremely political, propagandist, and manipulative event that pirated the same day, April 22, and now tries to crowd out the very memory of Arbor Day. That event of course, is Earth Day. Or as the United Nations calls it -- International Mother Earth Day. To be sure, this newly-invented, politically-charged “holiday” is often dominated by socialist (even pantheistic) tenets and, therefore, absolutely ignores who the true heroes of American environmentalism are; namely, those hunters, fishermen, and other genuine conservationists mentioned earlier. 

And, of course, International Mother Earth Day also ignores the innumerable passages in Holy Scripture which deal with God as the Creator and Sovereign King of the earth...and those which testify to the glory of Almighty God that is revealed in His creation...and those which exhort men to carefully serve as responsible stewards of the natural order...and the eventual destruction of the earth which occurs not through man’s ecological failure, but rather by the holy judgment of God. 

The last item, by the way, occurs just before God creates a new heaven and, yes, a brand new earth. 

International Mother Earth Day vs Arbor Day? For the Bible-based Christian, the choice is an obvious and easy one.

Green with Envy: The Best Articles on the Democrats' "Green New Deal"

* “The 10 Most Insane Requirements Of The Green New Deal: The Green New Deal isn't just un-American, it's also completely bonkers.” (David Harsanyi, Federalist)

* “Green New Deal Backers Embrace Their Fantasies” (Jonah Goldberg, National Review via Town Hall)

* “‘New Green Deal’ = New Green Hoax” (Tammy Bruce, Washington Post via Fox News)

* “The Same Old Deal” (The Editors at National Review)

* “Green New Deal Would Barely Change Earth’s Temperature. Here Are the Facts.” (Nicolas Loris, Daily Signal)

* “The Green Raw Deal” (Erick Erickson, Town Hall)

Weekend Check In

Here are a few of the week's best in reporting and commentary.

* “Why Does The GOP Want To Push Its Own Version of Obamacare?” (John Hawkins, Town Hall)

* “Where Are the Republican Party’s Leaders?” (Ian Tuttle, National Review)

* “Next Farm Bill Shouldn’t Play Favorites With Energy” (Nicolas Loris, Daily Signal)

* “Environmentalists Use Photoshop & Fraud to Deceive” (John Hinderaker, Power Line)

* “Gender-swap experiment shows Hillary even less likable as a man” (Amber Athey, Campus Reform)

* “Planned Parenthood Abortion Biz Sent 225 Letters to Doctors. Guess How Many Agreed to Partner With It?” (Miciah Bilger, LifeNews.com)

* “The Vast Wasteland Of Liberal Late Night Comedy” (Jeff Crouere, Town Hall)

* “Is ESPN Unraveling?” (Paul Mirengoff, Power Line)

* “Source: Ex-CIA officer who faced extradition freed after intervention from Trump administration” (Cristina Corbin and Catherine Herridge, Fox News)

* “Democrats Flip Zero Seats in Four Blue State Special Elections” (Andrew Kugle, Washington Free Beacon)

* “Why newspapers publish ‘fake news’ about science” (Michael Cook, BioEdge)

* “Peter Singer interviewed about, well, everything” (Michael Cook, Mercator)

Ringing in the New Year

* “Suggestions For Liberals in 2017” (Susan Stamper Brown, Town Hall)

* “It’s Still a Mad, Mad California” (Victor Davis Hanson, National Review)

* “In Europe and the US, Elites Who Live by Lies Despise the Little People Who Don’t” (John Zmirak, The Stream)

* “Obamacare Repeal Must Be on Day One: Congress Has No Excuses” (Jim DeMint, Daily Signal)

* “Russians! Under my bed!” (Glenn Reynolds, USA Today)

* “John Kerry’s practiced betrayal of friends” (Wes Pruden, Washington Times)

* “Conspiracy Theorists: Poll Shows Majority of Democrats Falsely Believe Russia Hacked Election Results” (Guy Benson, Town Hall)

* “2016's Biggest Loser — Big Green” (Stephen Moore, Investor’s Business Daily)

The Latest Roundup (Of Important News & Commentary)

* “Diplomatic terrorism at the UN, courtesy President Obama” (Anne Bayefsky, Fox News)

* “Final tally shows Trump lost popular vote by 2.8 million – but he BEAT Clinton by 3 million votes outside of California and New York” (David Martosko, Daily Mail)

* “White House Chief of Staff Absurdly Claims Obama ‘Most Catholic of Presidents’” (Dustin Siggins, The Stream)

* “Count your blessings much, Mrs. Grinch?” (Michelle Malkin, Jewish World Review)

* “Obsolete Climate Science On CO2” (Richard A. Epstein, Defining Ideas)

* “Obama shock: Another $6 billion in ‘midnight regulations’” (Paul Bedard, Washington Examiner)

* “A last kiss for mama: Jihadi parents bid young daughters goodbye... before one walks into a Damascus police station and is blown up by remote detonator” (Julian Robinson, Daily Mail)

* “Cops nab 20-year-old student who allegedly littered his Long Island college campus with swastika graffiti” (John Annese, New York Daily News)

* “The Trump nail in the media coffin” (Victor Davis Hanson, Jewish World Review)

* “George Washington University Removes U.S. History as a Requirement for History Majors” ( Andrew Stiles, Heat Street)

Post-Election Roundup #3

While the old guard media cries foul, wrings their hands, and doubles down on their distorted, smug, and unfair "reporting," the alternative media lives in the real world. Get the straight skinny with these insightful -- and fact-based -- articles on politics and culture.

* “The Stupefying Hypocrisy of the Luxury-Peddling New York Times” (Heather MacDonald, National Review)

* “President-Elect Donald Trump: ‘I’m Pro-Life, The Judges Will be Pro-Life’” (Steven Ertelt, LifeNews.com)

* “Five thoughts on the election” (Fr. Shenan Boquet, Life Site News)

* “Donald Trump Just Made These 10 Things Cool Again” (Sean Davis, Federalist)

* “‘I Won’” (Kevin D. Williamsom, National Review)

* “The GOP’s Trump Card in the States” (Steven Malanga, City Journal)

* “As National Debt Nears $20 Trillion, Senator Takes Aim at Government Waste” (Rachel del Guidice, Daily Signal)

* “California jumps the shark” (Joel Kotkin, Orange County Register)

* “Pope fails to reply to 4 cardinals’ urgent plea for clarification, so they go public” (John-Henry Westen, Life Site News)

* “Bare, Ruined Choirs: How Barack Obama wrecked the Democratic Party” (John Podhoretz & Noah C. Rothman, Commentary)

Eye-Opening Journalism

Want to keep up with what's happening in the culture wars? Here's a few excellent articles you may have missed.

* “Damning report on E-mailgate shows Hillary can’t be trusted” (New York Post Editorial Board)

* “20,642 New Regulations Added in the Obama Presidency” (James Gattuso, Daily Signal)

* “Abortion video changes minds of pro-choice women” (Sheila Liaugminas, Mercator)

* “Liberal Censorship: Breaking Out of the Echo Chamber” (Eric Metaxas, Breakpoint)

* “Campus Activists Are More Radical — and Troubled — than You Think” David French, NRO)

* “California’s $64 Billion Bullet Train To Nowhere Gets Delayed…Again” (John Merline, IBD)

* “Enough with Hollywood’s Pendulous Boobery” (Michelle Malkin, NRO)

You Say You Missed These?

* “Time to Wean Millennials Off the Lies of Socialism” (Jay Richards, The Stream)

* “What Happens to Conservatism Now?” (Maggie Gallagher, National Review)

* “The Transgender Juggernaut: When Sanity Became a Crime” (Michael Brown, The Stream)

* “A Part-time Law Lecturer vs. the Constitution” (Clarice Feldman, American Thinker)

* “How corporate America bought Hillary Clinton for $21M” (Michael Walsh, New York Post)

* “Green Weenie of the Week: The Portland School Board” (Steven Hayward, Power Line)

* “Federal Judge Issues ‘Extraordinary’ Order Sanctioning the DOJ for Misconduct in Executive Amnesty” (David French, National Review)

* “Facebook’s Troubling One-Way Mirror” (Jim Rutenberg, New York Times)

Culture War Reading for Your Weekend

* “Stalin, Russia’s New Hero” (Alec Luhnmarch, New York Times)

* “The fight over abortion in the UN: Parsing the New International Development Agenda” (Elyssa Koren, Mercator)

* “The Buck Stops…Over There. Like Obama, Trump Always Blames Others” (Ian Tuttle, National Review)

* “Carson Endorses Trump” (Paul Mirengoff, Power Line)

* “Democrats Propose Lawlessness and Call It Immigration Policy” (The Editors, National Review)

* “How a Generation Lost It’s Common Culture” (Patrick Deneen, Minding the Campus)

* “The California Exodus Accelerates” (Stephen Hayward, Power Line)

* “A Cringe-Worthy Presidency” (Max Boot, Commentary)

Through the Fog

The fog created by mainstream media can be overwhelming. Thus reading your Bible, good books, and honest journalism from trustworthy "watchmen on the wall" is more necessary than ever. Your Bible reading is, I trust, going on apace and I occasionally make suggestions about quality literature (as in1, 2, or 3). And then regarding that third element, here are a few articles from recent days I recommend:

* “Culture Rot: Donald Trump Is the Effect, Not the Cause” (Andrew C. McCarthy, National Review)

* “Why I will not support Donald Trump” (Kay Orr, Omaha World-Herald)

* “What Many Small Businesses Call Their Biggest Challenge” (Patrick Tyrrell, The Daily Signal)

* “How Fiduciary Rule May Censor Financial Broadcasters Like Dave Ramsey” (John Berlau, Forbes)

* “The Abortion Industry Survives by Endangering Women’s Lives” (David French, National Review)

* “The Inconvenient Facts the Media Ignore About Climate Change” Congressman Lamar Smith, The Daily Signal)

* “Evolution destroyed in under 5 minutes” (David Berlinski, Coldwater Media)

* “Andy Did It Again: Andy Stanley criticizing small churches” (Todd Pruitt, Mortification of Spin)

* “Why Are Higher Education Subsidies Going Toward Lazy River Rides?” (Mary Clare Reim, The Daily Signal)

Dispatches from the Culture Wars

* “New California Law Forces Pro-Life Pregnancy Centers to Advertise Abortions” (Chuck Donovan, Daily Signal)

* “Fearing the ‘G’ Word, the State Department Turns Its Back on Middle Eastern Christians” (Nina Shea, National Review)

* “Trump, Lies, and Bankruptcy” (Kevin D. Williamson, National Review)

* “The Ambassador From Hell?” (Lee Smith, Tablet)

* “The Day the Constitution Died” (Ben Shapiro, Town Hall)

* “FCC commissioner: U.S. tradition of free expression slipping away” (Rudy Takala, Washington Examiner)

* “How Green Is Thy Planet” (Stephen Hayward, Power Line)

Here, Catch This!

Among the best articles of recent days are these:

* “Failure in Cuba” (Editors, Washington Post)

* “DDT Might Have Stopped Zika, But Environmentalists Chose Mosquitoes Over People” (Daniel Greenfield, Front Page Magazine)

* “Public school kisses Valentine's Day goodbye” (Todd Starnes, Fox News)

* “Ex-Spies Say That Clinton’s Illegal Server Triggered Widespread Devastation” (Deroy Murdock, National Review)

* “Soros’ $6 Million For Hillary Speak Volumes” (Editors, Investor’s Business Daily)

* “Immoral Girl Scout Cookies” (Tom Purcell, Town Hall)

* “The Dirty Little Secret of How Teachers Unions Stay in Business” (Evan Grossman, Daily Signal)

* “Tenured Thugs and Thieves” (Kevin D. Willamson, National Review)

Did These Get By You?

For those of you doing duty in the culture wars, here's a few of the best articles from recent days.

* “Stephanopoulos’s Long, Long Record of Loyal Service to the Clintons” (John Fund, National Review)

* “Teacher assails practice of giving passing grades to failing students” (Jay Mathews, Washington Post)

* “The Death of the Green Energy Movement” (Stephen Moore, Daily Signal)

* “House of the Stacked Deck of Cards: The privilege of being Hillary Clinton” (Noemie Emery, Weekly Standard)

* “Al Sharpton’s daughter sues city for $5M after spraining ankle” (Kathianne Boniello, New York Post)

* “Germany’s Green-Power Program Crushes the Poor” (Robert Zubrin, National Review)

* “The US Lost 1,335 Soldiers in Anbar. ISIS Just Took it Back…Thanks Obama” (Jim Hoft, Gateway Pundit)

* “What if the World’s Most Expensive Fighter Planes Can’t Defeat Our Enemies?” (Mike Fredenburg, National Review)

Doomsters vs Boomsters? In Which Camp Are You?

Who do you side with, the Doomsters or the Boomsters? Have you, for instance, bought into the alarmism over population growth? Do you believe in the violent end of society as we know it because we’re running out of oil? Do you still feel the chills when you remember what your public school teachers taught you from the books of Paul Erlich and Rachel Carson?

Then you need to check out the calmer, more sensible perspectives from people who value reality over panic, genuine scientists who bring evidence to the table instead of political and ideological fixations.

A great start — and, I mean, a really great start — is to watch these two short videos. They are enlightening to the max. They’re also very well done, using both facts and fun to communicate remarkably important messages. Theses quick films are entitled “Why Haven’t We All Starved to Death” and “Why Haven’t We Run Out of Oil?” They are produced by Passing Lane Films from Pacific Research Institute. They are written and directed by Erin Michelle Kruger and are based on “Environmental Alarmism in Context: Hysteria’s History” by Dr. Amy Kaleita with Gregory R. Forbes. 

(Thanks to Stephen Hayward over at Power Line for the alert.)

Ten Eco-Villains the Green Movement Ignores

To mark last week's global commemoration of Earth Day, the wise and witty guys over at Mercator opted to skip the whining against big oil which mark practically all the stories you hear from the old guard media. Instead, they listed 10 major ecological problems that never get mentioned.

I'm going to list the ten eco-villains they name below but you really need to go check out the paragraph or two of supporting information that the Mercator writers provide for each culprit. It makes for eye-opening reading indeed.

It’s Earth Day again, an occasion on which to reflect on our sins against the environment and make resolutions to clean up our act. We are familiar with the usual suspects: overpopulation, oil companies, overpopulation, chocolate, cattle farmers, the coal industry… and did I mention overpopulation?

Well, forget all that. Here’s our top 10 eco-villains, most of them getting away with ecological murder to date.

1. Underpopulation. 

2. Big cities. 

3. Consumerism.

4. Solo living. 

5. Big government. 

6. Coffee. 

7. Weather in the United States. 

8. People who don’t like being cold (and that’s most of us). 

9. Facebook. 

10. Al Gore. 

The Alarming Counter-Productivity of Ethanol

“Biofuels made from the leftovers of harvested corn plants are worse than gasoline for global warming in the short term, a study shows, challenging the Obama administration's conclusions that they are a much cleaner oil alternative and will help combat climate change.”

Here's the AP story that opens with the line above. But that certainly isn't the whole story about ethanol. Check out these previous posts:

Ken Blackwell (and Vital Signs Blog) Are Singing the Ethanol Blues

Ethanol -- It's Not Accomplishing What You Think

Biofuels vs Food

Let's Stop the Ethanol Scam

Al Gore Flips on Ethanol; Admits He's a Political Phony 

The Biggest Crime? The Criminal Justice System.

John Hinderaker from over at PowerLine writes, “One of the hallmarks of a totalitarian state is that there are so many laws and regulations that no one can possibly know what they are, let alone obey them. Thus everyone is a criminal, and only the despot’s discretion separates the solid citizen from the criminal. Unfortunately, the United States is rapidly approaching — if it has not already reached— this dystopian status. So Glenn Reynolds’s great column in USA Today should be a starting point for lots of conversations.”

And that Glen Reynolds column? It’s right here.

Don't miss it.

Fracking Is an Incredible Boon to U.S. Economy & Environment: So Why Is the Government Against It?

The recovery of natural gas through smart drilling and hydraulic fracturing is cutting energy costs and raising living standards throughout the United States, a newly published study has found. Economists at IHS Inc. report hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking, will likely raise average U.S. household income by $2,700 per year and create 1.2 million new jobs by 2020.

Hydraulic fracturing is the process of extracting oil and natural gas from shale rock layers deep within the earth. Engineers drill thousands of feet below the earth’s surface and then create cracks in the shale formations by injecting water, sand, and trace chemicals under high pressure. Although energy producers have utilized fracking since the middle of the last century, Americans are benefiting from a fracking revolution today thanks to recent technological advances and new oil and natural gas discoveries.

“A revolution is under way in the production of unconventional oil and natural gas that is transforming America’s energy future and strengthening its overall economy,” the study reports…

The study also found the increase in manufacturing production will create a $51 billion increase in annual revenue for federal, state, and local governments by 2020.

The United States leads the world in shale oil and natural gas resources, and fracking is giving American entrepreneurs a new edge in global economic competition, the study observes.

“The unconventional [energy] revolution is also contributing to a shift in global competitiveness for the United States by unlocking new production cost advantages for U.S. industries benefitting from lower prices for raw materials and the energy they use,” according to the study.

The only appreciable danger to this increase in production and revenue, the authors state, is government regulations or prohibitions. Although top EPA officials have repeatedly testified they have never found a single incident of the fracking process contaminating groundwater, environmental activists claim fracking endangers groundwater and seek to ban or severely restrict fracking...

From Kenneth Artz' "Study: Fracking cuts energy costs, raises living standards" published in Human Events. Read the rest here.

Ken Blackwell (and Vital Signs Blog) Are Singing the Ethanol Blues

Corn prices are soaring, driving many American cattle ranchers to the edge of extinction. And with corn prices so doggone high, the prices of gasoline and innumerable connected commodities and services are driving many American families in the same perilous direction.

What's going on? One major factor is something that will likely surprise you.

It's ethanol.

Now I've complained about ethanol before: it's inefficiency, it's freakish damage to the economy, the corrupted politics required to protect it, and, most of all, the moral problem involved in turning food that a hungry world needs into fuel.

And now I have more reason to complain than ever since the governments of Iowa and Nebraska have mandated that all unleaded fuel sold in their states be an ethanol blend.

No kidding. 

Those corrupted politics of corn have moved into overt coercion, forcing me to either get with the program or start buying premium gasoline at 25-35 cents more per gallon. And that's what I will do. But, even then, many gas dealers in the Midwest have given up the fight altogether and offer only ethanol-laced products at their pumps.

Okay, I know many of you are unaware of the ethanol scam and so you're thinking I've strayed into some strange fields of conspiracy theory. I'm afraid not.

Among the salient Vital Signs Blog posts dealing with this important matter are: Ethanol -- It's Not Accomplishing What You Think; Biofuels vs Food; and Let's Stop the Ethanol Scam.

But, in addition to checking out the above links, I encourage you to read through the extensive excerpts I print below from a recent Ken Blackwell article over at CNS News ("The Renewable Fuel Standard Is Another Taxpayer-Funded Bailout"). Blackwell, you will remember, is a former mayor of Cincinnati who later served as Ohio State Treasurer and Ohio Secretary of State. He serves now as Senior Fellow for Family Empowerment for the Family Research Council. Writes Blackwell,

We're all paying more at the pump. It's hurting consumers and dangerous for the fragile economy. And, it's because of a Washington handout to corn farmers and big Wall Street banks - all disguised as a measure to promote renewable energy and clean-burning fuels.

The Renewable Fuel Standards (RFS) mandates an ever-increasing floor of ethanol be mixed with gasoline. The bill, which was expanded under President Obama, ensures a baseline level of demand for ethanol, distorting the market and sending the price of corn substantially higher. That's because gasoline refiners have to purchase ethanol, regardless of the price.

So, corn prices tripled, which has factored its way into the prices of other agriculture products. In fact, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that the impact of the RFS is so broad that ethanol subsidies account for 10-15 percent of the rise in overall food prices. In terms of the overall economy, the RFS is expected to cause a decline of $770 billion in GDP in 2015 alone. That's real economic activity, which translates to real jobs and incomes for Americans throughout the country.

And, hardly anyone in Congress or the Obama administration thinks the current law is working. The Environmental Protection Agency, which is run by leftist environmentalists, said that it does not "foresee a scenario in which the market could consume enough ethanol [...] and/or produce sufficient volumes of non-ethanol biofuels to meet the volumes of total renewable fuel and advanced biofuel as required by statute for 2014." So, in other words - Washington has once again imposed unachievable burdens on the private sector.

But what may be worse than this indirect subsidy to corn farmers is the way that big Wall Street banks are exploiting it at the expense of consumers. That's because if a gasoline refiner cannot meet the demands of the RFS, it can purchase credits, called renewable identification numbers (RINs), in a "marketplace." But unlike transparent marketplaces like Amazon, the market for RINs is opaque and dominated by speculators with no interest except driving the price higher.

The New York Times recently reported that, "the price of the ethanol credits skyrocketed 20-fold in just six months." A credit that went for 7 cents at the start of the year traded for $1.43 in July, according to Bloomberg. And that price is simply passed along to consumers at the pump - a large factor keeping gas prices above $3 per gallon nationwide for 1,000 consecutive days.

But Congress has approached the RFS from a weak position, intimidated by powerful lobby groups who like these handouts. Though the Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Fred Upton (MI), has assigned four members to find a solution, just one - Rep. Steve Scalise (LA) - has called for full repeal. The others - Reps. John Shimkus (IL), Lee Terry (NE) and Cory Gardner (CO) - are calling for "reform."

...Conservatives in Congress need to stop trying to save the RFS - and repeal it in its entirety. Doing that will relieve some of the pain at the pump, stop the increase in food prices and save Americans $770 million in economic activity in 2015.