OPINION:
After reading Paul Driessen’s opinion piece on E15 ethanol blends and the alleged shortfalls of ethanol as a renewable fuel, I think it is important to get the facts straight (“Folly and immorality of E15,” Thursday).
With regard to subsidies, big oil has been receiving tax credits and subsidies for more than 100 years, sweeping in record profits. Conversely, the ethanol industry has stepped up to the plate and sought to use federal funding to expand and improve the infrastructure needed to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, a change that naturally leads to job creation here at home at a time when it is desperately needed.
Having used roughly just 3 percent of the global grain supply last year, ethanol can hardly be to blame for an increase in the cost of food. The real rise in the cost of food can be attributed directly to the transportation, processing and packing of the items, all of which are driven by the rising cost of oil.
We do indeed have abundant resources here at home, many of them with substantial potential. But time is a luxury we simply cannot afford during these turbulent economic times as oil prices continue to rise and domestic production remains anemic. While ethanol may not be a “silver bullet” solution, it is a proven and reliable source of homegrown energy that can play an integral role in a comprehensive energy plan. It is time to stop spending more than $300 billion a year on foreign oil and to invest instead in the American economy.
And by the way, if you are concerned with performance, just take a look at the NASCAR drivers who rely on E15. Proven to meet and exceed their demanding standards, it is sure to do the same for you.
JIM NUSSLE
President, CEO
Growth Energy
Washington
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