While the Environmental Protection Agency has spent much of the past eight years infuriating biofuel advocates by not taking action in deciding whether or not greenhouse gases endanger the public health, it may spend much of the next few weeks infuriating biofuel opponents by delaying a decision on U.S. ethanol production. 

Legislation currently mandates the U.S. produce some nine billion gallons of ethanol this year, to be used as a fuel additive. However, the legislation also grants the EPA the ability to reduce or eliminate the quota should it be shown that production levels would “severely harm the economy or environment.”

With world food prices hitting record highs, and a growing mountain of research indicating that biofuel production from corn actually results in far more carbon being released into the atmosphere, the measure would seem to fit that “severe harm” clause on both counts; inexplicably, EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson has put off a final decision until August. 

It’s yet another twist from an administration whose record on the environment, from unopened emails, to oil addictions can only be described as bizarre.