Gen. Clark, Growth Energy call for labeling fuel by country of origin; Warner says “good idea”

In Illinois, General Wesley Clark, Co-Chairman of Growth Energy, today called on the United States Congress and the White House to take action to dramatically enhance the market transparency of the nation’s fuel supply by requiring a national standard of country of origin labeling for fuel. General Clark said: “Give the American people something more than octane level and price. There are a lot more factors.”

The Label My Fuel initiative – including a labelmyfuel.com website — would create a COOL standard, according to Growth Energy similar to requirements already in place for common consumer items, including apples, beef, cars and coffee. The goal is to help create consumer awareness of the costs and national security implications of the nation’s addiction to foreign oil.

Retired US Senator John Warner of Virginia, former chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee and ranking Republican on the Environment and Natural Resources Committee said that “I’ve known General Clark for a long time, worked very closely with him, and he has my respect. It sounds to me like something we have achieved in the food industry.  I would have to study the proposal in more detail, but it sounds to me like a good idea.”

Clark said: “The American people get it when they see it, but we never connect the dots. The neighborhood filling station is not pumping neighborhood gas. Our dependence on imported oil is deeply related to issues in the Middle East. The Department of Energy estimates the cost of imported oil cost is $7 trillion in the past 30 year, and up to $500 billion in some years.”

The Growth Energy proposal was long on ideas, but short on specifics. Pressed to comment on how the process would work, Clark said “industry has to work out the logistics and the stakeholders have to all get together. This is the right principle.”

How can industry label the country of origin when fuels are blended from all over the world? “If you don’t know exactly where the fuel is from, put all the countries that might have,” said Growth Energy CEO Tom Buis. “It’s not a new kind of consideration. With fruits and vegetables, we have the country of origin changing almost daily in terms of what is at the supermarket without causing undue burden on retailers. It’s pretty simple.”

Buis added, “American ethanol is the only existing alternative to gasoline today that is creating jobs, cutting greenhouse gas emissions and reducing our dependence on foreign oil,” said Tom Buis, Growth Energy CEO. “Country of origin labeling for fuel will let consumers know if they are pumping a domestic-made fuel, like ethanol, or fuel from a foreign source.”

Buis and Clark said that they will be pursuing federal legislation in support of the initiative, adding that they have met with Senator Tom Harkin and Senator Collin Petersen regarding the proposal, but said that they would be looking for sponsors of a bill over the next few weeks.

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