Proposed reduction in renewable fuel blended into gasoline will hurt farmers
The National Farmers Union and Fuels America are working to ensure farmers and those concerned with cleaner burning U.S. produced fuel get their say in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s public comment period on the proposed rule for 2014 which would reduce the amount of renewable fuel blended into our nation’s gasoline supply.
Here’s what the two groups suggest you can do to help show the Obama Administration that there are interests out there other than Big Oil:
Write and submit comments to EPA on the following link:
http://www.fuelsamerica.org/page/s/take-a-stand-for-lower-gas-prices
NFU is a member of Fuels America, a coalition committed to protecting the RFS. By submitting comments through the Fuels America website, the coalition will be able to amplify your messages through social media channels. It is also helpful so that we know who has submitted comments.
The official notice in the Federal Register can be found here:
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2013-11-29/pdf/2013-28155.pdf
Here are some talking points you may want to use in your comments:
The Proposed Lower 2014 RFS Targets:
- Hurt rural economies
- USDA is expecting a record corn crop (slightly above 14 billion bushels)
- EPA’s proposal would reduce demand for corn and hurt farm income/the rural economy
- Devastates the advanced biofuels industry
- Investors are spooked by this reversal in policy and will likely take their investment dollars elsewhere. This will hurt the advanced biofuels sector
- Embraces fictitious “blend wall”
- The oil industry claims that it cannot blend more ethanol into the nation’s fuel supply. The reason isn’t that they can’t, it’s that they won’t
- Contradicts President Obama’s climate initiative
- The proposal goes against Obama’s climate initiative. According to a recent study by Argonne National Laboratory, corn ethanol reduces greenhouse gas emissions by more than 30 percent compared with conventional gasoline
For more information, contact Jan Ahlen at jahlen@nfudc.org.
