In The News

Ethanol can end addiction to foreign oil

As the general manager for a 40-million gallon ethanol plant in Windsor, I have seen firsthand the positive impact that domestically produced ethanol has on our community by helping to create green jobs and by stimulating local economic activity.

But for many Americans unfamiliar with our nation's only commercially viable alternative to foreign oil, actual knowledge about ethanol is mixed - and often inaccurate.

A careful analysis of American-made ethanol reveals how important this homegrown fuel is to our country's future.

Ethanol displaces the equivalent of 500,000 barrels per day of gasoline derived from foreign oil. By creating ethanol in the United States, we are decreasing our need for foreign oil, keeping more American money within our borders instead of sending it overseas - oftentimes to countries that are either politically unstable or outright hostile to U.S. interests.

And at a time when unemployment and underemployment are choking our economic recovery, the ethanol industry is a major job creator. The economic benefits of ethanol are felt throughout the United States - not just at the plants and in their immediate communities but across economic sectors, such as equipment makers and seed companies investing in high-tech research and development.

But what is really lost in the public debate about ethanol is the environmental benefits associated with ethanol use.

Peer-reviewed research published in Yale University's Journal of Industrial Ecology shows that ethanol produced from corn can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 59 percent relative to gasoline. Continued innovation in the industry can further reduce those emissions by as much as 86 percent.

To be sure, as oil continues to get dirtier, costlier and riskier to extract, the U.S. ethanol industry continues to get cleaner and more efficient every day as a result of new technologies and better conservation practices on the farm.

Unfortunately, members of the Fort Collins City Council recently stated that they would consider phasing out the use of corn-based ethanol in its fleet of Flex Fuel vehicles.

This proposal is shortsighted and would only serve to perpetuate our nation's addiction to foreign oil. Flex Fuel vehicles, which are capable of running on blends of ethanol from zero to 85 percent, give consumers access to fuels other than oil and they significantly contribute to reductions in harmful emissions.

According to the American Lung Association of the Upper Midwest, a typical Flex Fuel vehicle driver can prevent four tons of lifecycle carbon dioxide and other pollutants from entering our air every year simply by fueling with E85 instead of gasoline. And using E85 can reduce ozone-forming pollutants by 20 percent and evaporative emissions by at least 25 percent.

Every day, farmers and ethanol producers are working to mitigate their environmental impact by actively engaging in practices to conserve soil, restore and enhance wetlands and reduce nutrient application. New technologies are making fertilizer application to crops and water use at plants more efficient than ever.

There is no doubt in my mind that a continued commitment to ethanol can end our costly addiction to foreign oil, put Americans back to work and improve the air we breathe.

Phasing out the city's Flex Fuel fleet will only prevent us from achieving these goals.

I urge the Fort Collins City Council to not only maintain the fleet, but expand it, to reap the full benefits of America's fuel.