Recovering from Oil Spills and Oil Dependence with Ethanol

On April 20, 2010, explosions on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig unleashed nearly 5 million barrels of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico, killing rig workers, destroying wildlife and ecosystems and derailing the Gulf Coast economy that depended on fishing and tourism.

On the first anniversary of the BP Spill, even after countless hearings in Congress, a federal investigation, unresolved health concerns and $5-a-gallon gasoline, we are nowhere closer to reducing our reliance on oil. Nor have we instituted policies to ensure that history does not repeat itself.

While the full scope of the environmental catastrophe due to the spill in the Gulf is still fairly unknown, one thing that is immediately clear is that there are severe consequences of relying upon oil.

In its 2010 Fuel Scorecard, the Truman National Security Project concludes that the policy of keeping oil as our primary transportation fuel “clearly stands out as the most harmful for U.S. national security overall.”

Whether we drill, dig or import, the bottom line is that our addiction to oil is unsustainable and both environmentally and economically perilous.

There is only one solution: use less oil by substituting its use through domestically produced alternatives.

Today we have the single-best alternative to foreign oil in domestic ethanol. Grain ethanol is already here and commercially viable. It is not a someday fuel; it is replacing foreign oil today, and if we lift the artificial hurdles blocking access to the fuels market, it can replace more.

Ethanol displaces the equivalent of 500,000 barrels per day of gasoline and saves each American consumer approximately $180 a year in gas prices. Ethanol made from grain is also 59 percent cleaner than gasoline – with cellulosic ethanol 86 percent cleaner than gasoline.

We have had the opportunity in the past to break our dependence on oil. Today we have the technology and the know-how to do something about it. But we must act now to make the change. We must invest in the biofuels we have the ability to produce and enact policies that ensure access to these alternatives.

Only then can we truly begin to recover from the catastrophic consequences of our reliance on oil.

source: renewableenergyworld