http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15478/story.htm Planet Ark : US Senate kills attempt to scale back ethanol use
USA: April 15, 2002 WASHINGTON - The Senate last week killed an attempt to roll back strong requirements for ethanol use in a pending energy bill, and instead committed to a big boost in the corn-based fuel additive beginning in two years. California lawmakers led the effort to slow the implementation of more ethanol use, fearing high gasoline prices would result if the state was not given more time to put refineries, storage facilities and other infrastructure in place to handle the extra fuel additive that would be needed. To help diversify U.S. energy supplies, the Senate bill calls for increasing the amount of renewable fuels such as ethanol that is blended into gasoline. Ethanol use would increase from the current 1.5 billion gallons a year to 5 billion gallons annually by 2012. Democrat Dianne Feinstein of California had sought to modify the bill to delay by one year, until 2005, the implementation date for the new ethanol requirements. "Every indicator I have seen points to this ethanol requirement as having unanticipated side effects, such as supply problems and resulting in higher gasoline prices for the consumer," she said. Feinstein also proposed shortening the period that the Environmental Protection Agency would have to act on individual state requests to waive the ethanol mandate in the event of supply problems from 240 days to 30 days. Lawmakers did not vote down Feinstein's proposal outright, but they voted 61 to 36 to set aside the measure which effectively killed it. The Senate is trying to finish its work on the underlying energy bill by the end of next week. Lawmakers must still debate a controversial amendment from Republicans to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling. REUTERS NEWS SERVICE ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> Buy Stock for $4 and no minimums. FREE Money 2002. http://us.click.yahoo.com/orkH0C/n97DAA/ySSFAA/FGYolB/TM ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Please do NOT send "unsubscribe" messages to the list address. To unsubscribe, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
