04.17.08
Questioning Ethanol Sources for the Renewable Fuel Standard
I was recently invited to write about energy issues at Agricultural Law, which is part of the Jurisdynamics Network. I welcome any comments on my most recent post, Is Cash the Only Thing Green about the Renewable Fuel Standard?
Dan Owens, of the Blog for Rural America, has added some insightful comments about the RFS legislation. And over at the Environmental Law Prof Blog, it was argued that I should have gone further and advocated a policy that would “restrict ethanol to cellulosic fuels that are not produced on lands converted from food crops.” I agree with the reasoning behind such a requirement, but if the RFS required that the ethanol source be a crop that can be grown on degraded lands, it is my hope that farmers with land suitable for food crops would not want to compete with those using degraded lands. That is, the farm land would be worth more for growing food crops. To ensure we move away from ethanol derived from food sources (and ultimately food-quality lands), promotion of technologies for cellulosic ethanol should the primary goal of the RFS, at least in the early years.
- Josh Fershee