Corn Growers Can Help US Get Off Oil
Posted: March 5, 2008
President Bush had a pretty simple message Wednesday at the Washington International Renewable Energy Conference 2008 (WIREC).
“America has got to change its habits. We’ve got to get off oil.”
No kidding. About the time he was making that statement, crude oil on the New York mercantile exchange jumped nearly $4 on falling oil inventories, trading over $104 a barrel and setting a new all-time record. The expectation is that gas prices will reach $4 a gallon by Memorial Day now.
Bush renewed his support for ethanol produced by the nation’s farmers to help us change our habits and get off that high-priced oil.
“The vast majority of that ethanol is coming from corn, and that’s good,” he said. “That’s good if you’re a corn-grower. And it’s good if you’re worried about national security. I’d rather have our corn farmers growing energy than relying upon some nation overseas that may not like us. That’s how I view it.”
He did express concerns about corn ethanol, however, and stressed the need for cellulosic technology.
“The best thing to do is not to retreat from our commitment to alternative fuels, but to spend research and development money on alternatives to ethanol made from other materials — for example, cellulosic ethanol holds a lot of promise. I’m sure there are people in the industry here that will tell you how far the industry has come in a very quick period of time.”
As to changing habits, Bush noted, “I probably didn’t help today when I rode over in a 20-car motorcade.” Some things may never change!