"Well, here's another nice mess you've gotten me into!" said Oliver Hardy to Stan Laurel in The Laurel-Hardy Murder Case, a 28-minute movie made in 1930. The phrase is usually misquoted as "Here's another fine mess you've gotten me into." Either way, it means falling into an unavoidable problem.
What, you ask, does a Laurel and Hardy movie made in 1930 have to do with today's Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)? Directly, nothing, but indirectly, everything. You see, the phrase "Well, here's another nice mess you've gotten me into!" pretty well sums up EPA director Lisa Jackson's decision to enforce the EPA rule that mandates that oil refiners blend cellulosic ethanol into gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel, among other products.
The nice (or fine) mess? Cellulosic ethanol does not exist commercially! It exists in small quantities in labs, but there is simply no way for oil refiners to honor the EPA mandate. But did that little problem cause Jackson to change her decision? Nooooo, to quote John Belushi on SNL.
The EPA fined refiners a $6.8-million penalty for not following its edict. The American Petroleum Institute (API) and the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) in February 2011, and, in January 2012, appealed the fine and asked Jackson to review her decision. She refused to reverse her decision, then had the gall (and bad taste) to close her refusal letter with "We thank you for your interest in these issues."
What, you ask, does a Laurel and Hardy movie made in 1930 have to do with today's Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)? Directly, nothing, but indirectly, everything. You see, the phrase "Well, here's another nice mess you've gotten me into!" pretty well sums up EPA director Lisa Jackson's decision to enforce the EPA rule that mandates that oil refiners blend cellulosic ethanol into gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel, among other products.
The nice (or fine) mess? Cellulosic ethanol does not exist commercially! It exists in small quantities in labs, but there is simply no way for oil refiners to honor the EPA mandate. But did that little problem cause Jackson to change her decision? Nooooo, to quote John Belushi on SNL.
The EPA fined refiners a $6.8-million penalty for not following its edict. The American Petroleum Institute (API) and the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) in February 2011, and, in January 2012, appealed the fine and asked Jackson to review her decision. She refused to reverse her decision, then had the gall (and bad taste) to close her refusal letter with "We thank you for your interest in these issues."
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