Today in Biofuels Opinion: “A majority of Americans say economic growth should be given the priority, even if the environment suffers to some extent.”

Bob Dinneen, President and CEO, Renewable Fuels Association: “WE GET it. The Boston Globe hasn’t met a cornfield it likes. But when it comes to assailing domestically produced ethanol – America’s best response to lessening dependence on foreign oil, a dependency that has not been kind to New England consumers – the Globe turns a blind eye to facts… A peer-reviewed study published in Yale’s Journal of Industrial Ecology by researchers at the University of Nebraska found that “corn ethanol emits 51 percent less greenhouse gas than gasoline.” Another study found that increasing US corn ethanol production to 15 billion gallons by 2015 would have no impact on land use because of greater efficiency of ethanol production and US corn productivity.”

Gallup Poll: “For the first time in Gallup’s 25-year history of asking Americans about the trade-off between environmental protection and economic growth, a majority of Americans say economic growth should be given the priority, even if the environment suffers to some extent. Gallup first asked Americans about this trade-off in 1984, at which time over 60% chose the environmental option. Support for the environment was particularly high in 1990-1991, and in the late 1990s and 2000, when the dot-com boom perhaps made economic growth more of a foregone conclusion.”

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