Kenneth Harman, Jr., Illinois Corn Growers Association President; Richard Guebert, Jr., Illinois Farm Bureau President; and Raymond E. Defenbaugh, Illinois Renewable Fuels Association President issued the following joint statement today regarding the anti-ethanol campaign currently underway in Illinois.
“The anti-ethanol smear campaign currently underway in Illinois is heavy on rhetoric and short on facts. The timing is suspicious, as we’re just about ten days away from the deadline that requires the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s release of its final rule making on the Renewable Fuel Standard RVO requirement. Such a desperate, expensive spend on advertising reflects the precarious position of Big Oil. They don’t have a leg to stand on.
“We know that the Renewable Fuel Standard has been one of the most successful energy policies ever enacted. It has rejuvenated rural economies, created jobs nationwide, and lowered prices at the pump, all while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
“EPA recognizes that corn ethanol provides a significant reduction in greenhouse gasses. In fact, global ethanol production and use is estimated to reduce those emissions by 100 million metric tons. That’s like taking 20 million vehicles off the road. U.S. ethanol production each year displaces the gasoline equivalent of 512 million barrels of crude oil. That’s more than we import annually from Saudi Arabia.
Illinois is the second largest producer of ethanol in the country, so we’re talking big bucks here.
How familiar are you with a federal law on the books called the Renewable Fuel Standard, which mandates certain amounts of biofuels to be added to the nation’s fuel supply?
TOTAL FAMILIAR 37%
TOTAL NOT FAMILIAR 63%
VERY FAMILIAR 4%
SOMEWHAT FAMILIAR 33%
NOT VERY FAMILIAR 29%
NOT AT ALL FAMILIAR 34%
DON’T KNOW/REFUSED
Question 8
Let me give you some information about the Renewable Fuel Standard, or RFS. The RFS is a federal program established in 2005 and expanded in 2007 that requires biofuels, such as corn ethanol, to be blended into your gasoline. The RFS requires more and more biofuels, particularly corn ethanol, be blended added to the nation’s fuel supply each year.
Based on what you know, do you agree or disagree with the RFS and the increased use of corn ethanol in our nation’s fuel supply each year?
Now, let me tell you a bit more about the RFS. When the RFS was created, Congress included specific targets for how much ethanol should be added to the fuel supply each year, with the numbers going up each year. But earlier this year, EPA said that those congressional targets were too high, in part because demand for gasoline has actually gone down. That’s something Congress never predicted, and which wasn’t included in the original models.
Knowing this, would you be more or less likely to support the existing RFS and the HIGHER ethanol mandate targets?
MORE LIKELY 32%
LESS LIKELY 59%
DON’T KNOW/REFUSED 9%
Question 10
And, which of the following statements comes closest to your view?
ETHANOL LEVELS SHOULD FOLLOW THE PRE-EXISTING TARGETS THAT WERE ESTABLISHED BY THE RFS IN 2007, REGARDLESS OF HOW THE DEMAND FOR FUEL CHANGES 30%
THE EPA SHOULD BE ABLE TO CHANGE THE MANDATED ETHANOL VOLUME NUMBERS IN RESPONSE TO FLUCTUATIONS IN THE FUEL MARKET 61% DON’T KNOW/REFUSED 8%
After being presented with the key findings of the Princeton study, which found that corn ethanol production nearly doubled greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions over 30 years, compared to conventional gasoline, 78 percent were less likely to support the RFS and higher ethanol targets. As the survey continued, 73 percent of voters believed that the ethanol mandate has an overall negative effect on the environment. 83 percent told us they were less likely to support the program once they learned of the Environmental Working Group study that found ethanol production in 2014 resulted in 27 million more tons of carbon dioxide entering the atmosphere. 72 percent of Illinoisans were less likely to support the RFS and higher ethanol targets after learning that scientists at the Sandia National Lab, a federally funded research institution, found that producing one gallon of ethanol from irrigated corn could require up to 880 gallons of water. And 83 percent believe mandating that more corn ethanol be added to the fuel supply could decrease the country’s water supply.
* You’ll remember this press release from yesterday…
GROUP TO RAUNER: ILLINOIS GOV’T IS NOT A DICTATORSHIP!
Coalition Sheds Light On Governor’s Back-Door Move for Massive Charter Expansion, Demands Rejection of Federal Funds
WHAT: Parents, community organizations, school board members and elected officials will join together before the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) meeting on Friday, November 20th at 9am to protest the undemocratic decision making from ISBE to expand charter schools in Illinois without public input.
ISBE applied for and received a federal grant of $42.5 million to open 48 new charter schools – 24 for Chicago over the next 5 years and 24 for the rest of the state. But the grant only covers start-up funding, with no funds to run schools once they open, thus cannibalizing the same inadequate public dollars funding existing schools.
* The ISBE responds…
ISBE could never do what is being suggested in this release. ISBE is required by law to offer the money - once awarded - to start-up charter schools through sub-grants that are decided based on a highly regulated and competitive state procurement process.
This procurement process is governed strictly by the state procurement code to ensure transparency and fairness. The program will help educate and empower school districts to consider the ways in which charter schools can support and encourage educational innovation, community partnerships and improved student outcomes.
It will build on ISBE’s current initiatives to help all schools promote academic excellence by providing equitable options for all students to ultimately close the achievement gap.
In addition, I was told earlier: “There have been no decisions made on selection or funding for any expansion of a charter school at this time as it is still too early in the process. ISBE will release an RFP later this fall by which those determinations will be made. The purpose of the presentation in [today’s] Board meeting is to explain this RFP process.”
