Seven Ways Big Oil Rigs the System

The following list was created by Fuels America:

Rigging Congress: In the last five years, the oil industry has spent over $885 million on lobbyists and campaign contributions to buy influence on Capitol Hill. That’s more than $1 million for every Member of Congress.

Rigging the Market: Big oil has a near-total monopoly on the marketplace — so when oil prices go up, you get gouged. Because oil companies want to protect that monopoly at all cost, they’ve taken aim at the commonsense, bipartisan renewable fuel standard — demanding that the EPA effectively cut the amount of renewable fuel in gasoline and raise the oil content. That would increase their profits, cost consumers more at the pump, and increase our dependence on foreign oil.

Rigging the Tax Code: For over 100 years (!), oil companies have held onto sweetheart tax breaks — supercharging Big Oil’s profits with hard-earned wages from American families.

Rigging the Fuel Supply: Oil companies made $100 billion in profits last year, but have refused to pay for infrastructure to sell more renewable fuels in spite of a law requiring them to do so. Now the companies want the government to excuse them from selling more renewable fuels due to a lack of infrastructure … a bottleneck they deliberately created in order to protect their monopoly on the marketplace.

Rigging Studies: The oil companies like to quote a study that said ethanol damages engine valves. Who paid for the study? The oil companies. How did they rig the study? By pre-selecting cars with known valve defects. Come on, guys. Remember when tobacco industry studies found that smoking wasn’t harmful?

Rigging the Debate: Big Oil companies have spent millions on slick advertisements attacking clean, American-made renewable fuel. What don’t the ads say? That fuels like ethanol are higher octane — making them better for your engine — higher performance, cleaner burning, and cost less money than regular gasoline.

Rigging the Airwaves: Where is the “American” Petroleum Institute getting all this money to attack our homegrown renewable fuels? Hint – API isn’t quite as “American” as the name would suggest.

Get the facts. Don’t get oil rigged.

Since ethanol can be made for a dollar a gallon using undrinkable water and unfarmable land with already-existing technology, oil's monopoly on transportation fuel is an idea whose time has passed.