Putting a Dent in Foreign Oil
Posted: May 20, 2008
Ethanol critics love to argue against straw men, saying that even if we used all the corn acreage for ethanol, it really won’t do much to decrease oil dependence.
When it comes to promoting ethanol independence, we’ve said all along that corn ethanol is only part of the solution. We’re glad to see other forms of biofuels under development and we’re intrigued by calls for all vehicles to be flex-fuel.
But it is ludicrous to say that this will not go far in helping reduce our dependence. Just pick up today’s Financial Times.
US begins to break foreign oil ‘addiction’
The US is starting to break its “addiction” to foreign oil as high prices, more efficient cars, and the use of ethanol significantly cut the share of its oil imports for the first time since 1977. The country’s foreign oil dependency is expected to fall from 60 per cent to 50 per cent in 2015, before rising again slightly to 54 per cent in 2030, according to the head of the Department of Energy’s statistical arm.
There are many reasons to support ethanol. Energy security and independence is one of the best ones. As Bruce Dale of Michigan State University put it recently, “Many of our military assets are explicitly devoted to protecting oil supply lines. The 7th Fleet will not be needed to protect our domestic corn fields and grasslands.”