Today in Biofuels Opinion: “They gave us the ethanol scam.”

William C. Shelton in the Somerville News: “Our political and economic institutions keep producing false solutions that divert desperately needed resources, deepen the nation’s deficit, waste precious time and enrich special interests. They gave us the ethanol scam…Ethanol damages the environment. In addition to consuming huge amounts of fossil fuel, industrial-scale cornfields silt up the Mississippi River and create a vast dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico. Burning corn ethanol is as dirty as conventional gasoline and does little to solve global warming….The ethanol scam is largely the accomplishment of one huge but shadowy company. Half of Archer Daniels Midland’s profits come from products subsidized or protected by the U.S. government.”

Brent Erickson, executive vice president of the Biotechnology Industry Organization’s Industrial & Environmental Section: “U.S.-produced biofuel combined with fuel efficiency will allow the nation to meet growing transportation energy needs without increasing imports of oil. That is a surprising conclusion from the Energy Information Administration, whose Annual Energy Outlook projections use the most conservative assumptions. The current projection demonstrates that if the United States were to meet or exceed the targets set in the Renewable Fuel Standard, we could begin to decrease our reliance on all petroleum, create jobs and boost rural economies, and significantly cut greenhouse gas emissions.”

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