Commentary: The EPA Can’t Give Up Ground on Biofuels
Together with eight other lawmakers, Sens. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Tom Coburn, R-Okla., recently introduced a bill to eliminate the mandate for corn-based ethanol. This proposal comes just weeks after the Environmental Protection Agency announced plans to reduce the ethanol fuel requirement, writes Martin Barbre in Roll Call.
Both moves are reckless and unjustifiable. The nation must break its fossil-fuel addiction.
Corn-based ethanol helps cut domestic greenhouse gas emissions, lowers gasoline prices and supports hundreds of thousands of jobs. Plans to limit its use will stall the drive for clean energy, while wreaking havoc on the nation’s agricultural markets.
Our leaders can’t cede ground to the fossil fuels industry. Policymakers must reconsider these misguided plans, and instead redouble their efforts to promote renewable energy, especially domestic biofuels.