WASHINGTON – The nation’s farmers got a big boost when the Obama administration issued new biofuels guidelines that could open the way for large increases in the production of corn-based ethanol.
The Environmental Protection Agency said this month that new data showed that, even after taking into account increased fertilizer and land use, corn-based ethanol can yield significant climate benefits by displacing conventional gasoline or diesel fuel.
The new renewable-fuel standard issued by the EPA drew criticism from some environmentalists as well as oil industry representatives, who accused the Obama administration of catering to farm interests. In an earlier draft, the administration had said that corn-based ethanol output should be limited because its direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions exceeded renewable fuel standards.
“The numbers are inconsistent with the great bulk of analyses by others, which consistently find that emissions from indirect land use change for crops grown on productive land cancel out the bulk or all of the greenhouse gas reductions, but I will have to study the results,” said Tim Searchinger, a research scholar at Princeton University and an author of articles critical of corn-based ethanol.
EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson defended the new guidelines, saying she was “confident” that “we weren’t dumbing down the standard to favor any particular industry or ... outcome.” She said revised projections helped drive the new guidelines.
The biofuels announcement added to growing tension in the coalition of environmental, climate and renewable-energy groups that has supported President Obama’s push for a comprehensive climate bill.
source: journalgazette
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