“Among the critical national security challenges now on America’s agenda, few are more important than reducing our dependence on foreign oil…Protecting ourselves against politically inspired and unanticipated disruptions in oil supplies abroad is crucial to the smooth running of our economy.”
Mortimer Zuckerman, Editor-in-Chief U.S. News & World Report February 19, 2002
We must do more long-term thinking about energy. The one thing our current pending military action in the Middle East has made clear is that the United States is simply too reliant on foreign sources of oil. Right now, 56 percent of our oil comes from abroad--and this figure is projected to rise in the years ahead.
Last year’s energy bill got bogged down, among other reasons, in a debate over drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. While the Alaska oil would help, we need to look elsewhere for major solutions.
And so I say - let’s keep on exploring for fuel in America’s farm belt. We won’t find it by drilling, of course. But we will find it if we continue to nurture the growing demand for ethanol and biodiesel.
For six months in a row, the ethanol industry has set an all-time record for monthly production. The latest numbers are from January, when producers cranked out 177,000 barrels a day. “With crude oil prices high and refined gasoline stocks dangerously low, the ethanol industry continues to work overtime to extend U.S. gasoline supplies and lower prices for consumers,” said Bob Dinneen, president of the Renewable Fuels Association.
Most people already know ethanol is a fuel produced from plant material--mostly corn, though just about any kind of plant will do. Lots of cars already run exclusively on ethanol, including 3.6 million of them in Brazil alone. In the United States, ethanol is primarily a fuel additive whose purpose is to cut down on harmful auto emissions, because ethanol burns cleaner than traditional gas. It’s very environmentally friendly.
Last year was the best ever for ethanol. The industry manufactured 2.13 billion gallons from 800 million bushels of corn--and by doing so it reduced greenhouse gas emissions by more than 4.3 million tons. That’s like removing 636,000 cars from the road.
Better yet, the money for this ethanol went right into the hands of U.S. producers. That means more jobs for Americans in an economy that currently isn’t providing enough of them.
This year’s ethanol production is supposed to rise even higher, to 2.5 billion gallons. About 10 percent of the country’s corn crop will be distilled into fuel. Corn exports are down slightly, but the price of corn has remained fairly steady because of the increased demand for ethanol.
There’s also growing interest and demand for biodiesel, a clean-burning alternative to traditional diesel fuel. It’s made from any natural fat or oil such as soybean oil using a specific refinery process. Soybeans are popular ingredients because their oil also lubricates engines. I know farmers who put only biodiesel in their trucks and tractors.
These developments are nothing but good news for our economy and our environment--and best of all is what they mean for our national security. As President Bush recently commented, “If you can produce something yourself, it means you`re less dependant upon somebody else to produce it.” He was talking about his $1.2 billion hydrogen fuel initiative, and he specifically mentioned ethanol as one of the materials that can produce the hydrogen necessary to run a new generation of cars and power plants.
We’re not about to trade blood for oil--and if we continue investing in renewable energy sources like ethanol and biodiesel, we’ll never even have to think about it.
News 
“Among the critical national security challenges now on America’s agenda, few are more important than reducing our dependence on foreign oil…Protecting ourselves against politically inspired and unanticipated disruptions in oil supplies abroad is crucial to the smooth running of our economy.”
