GoodFuels

Sec. of Ag writes op-ed for The Hill

Tom Vilsack, Secretary of Agriculture over at USDA, wrote an op-ed for The Hill on Monday. Vilsack discusses rural America’s important role in energy independence, how it relates to national security and the state of the country today, and initiatives the Obama administration is taking to help the growth of rural areas:

President Obama and I share a common vision that our nation’s farmers, ranchers, forest owners and rural communities should lead the way in creating a new-energy economy and producing more of our nation’s power through renewable sources. Right now we have the unique opportunity to spur economic development, improve our environment, and create jobs domestically by replacing our dependence on fossil fuels with energy-efficient biofuels.

Vilsack touches on the newly-formed Biofuels Interagency Working Group, highlighting their hopes to “develop policies to increase flexible-fuel vehicle use and assist in retail marketing efforts while taking a broad view of how to strengthen rural communities.”

The economic challenges facing the nation are also a point of discussion:

It goes without saying that these are difficult times for the biofuels industry: Oil prices are well below their 2008 peak, input costs have soared unpredictably and the economic downturn has decreased consumption. However, it is critical that we maintain the renewable fuel capacity that we have already built as we support the transition to second- and third-generation biofuels.

It’s refreshing to see that clean energy (in particular, biofuels) are near the top of the Obama administration’s priorities. There are only so many ways to displace some of the imports of finite sources of petroleum, and ethanol is available NOW. Definitely worth a read.

Click here to see the whole column.