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Energy Plan has positives

Published 7:13am Monday, February 8, 2010

It is good that the president has given his renewed support to alternative fuels – good not only for the nation, which desperately needs to reduce carbon emissions and break its dependence on foreign oil, but good also for the Fergus Falls area, where manufacturing alternative fuels is an important part of the economy.

The president urged lawmakers to work together to pass an energy bill that would encompass a reduction in carbon emissions via cleaner fuels such as ethanol, and his administration said it would move forward with plans to increase biofuel production to 36 million gallons a year by 2022. That would be three times what is now produced and would require additional capacity.

A move toward renewable, cleaner fuels represents only a fraction of what needs to be done, the largest piece of which is going to be major changes in Americans’ habits. But since no politician is going to touch that challenge with a 50-foot pole, incremental changes such as an emphasis on biofuels are a good start – particularly since the ethanol industry, which has such promise for this area’s economy, has struggled during recent years.

We hope the White House’s commitment to cleaner fuels will not only benefit the nation, but Otter Tail County as well.