Earlier this week an AP story published nationally in many media organizations, “The secret, dirty cost of Obama’s green power push,” later retitled as “The secret environmental cost of U.S. ethanol policy.” It was rife with errors about ethanol’s impact on the environment.

While the article was clearly biased against an industry that is creating jobs and prosperity throughout this country, not to mention oil alternatives, it did get one thing right: “The environmental consequences of drilling for oil and natural gas are well documented and severe.” In our quest for cleaner energy sources, the one thing we know for sure is that burning fossil fuels is having a dangerous impact on our environment. The good news is that we have a choice. We can continue to use oil, or we can choose cleaner alternatives, like ethanol. Diversifying our fuel sources to include renewable fuel — both traditional, and advanced — will ensure a cleaner, healthier future for all of us.

 

Gary Pestorius
Albert Lea