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NRDC - The Earth's Best Defense

Move America Beyond Oil

Let's take the road to a clean, secure energy future.

Better Fuel: Homegrown, Renewable Biofuels

Biofuels have the potential to be a clean, renewable energy resource, and American farmers can grow the raw materials to produce them.

Fuels made from plant materials instead of petroleum can help free Americans from our dependence on hostile or unreliable foreign fuel sources. Homegrown biofuels - if they're grown right - can also help curb global warming emissions, offer consumers an affordable alternative to gas and diesel and help American farmers.

Gas Price Pain Relievers

This summer, pain at the pump has reached epidemic proportions, and everyone is clamoring for relief. The Bush administration has run for cover by offering the same old failed solutions: drilling for oil in protected coastal waters and exploiting America's precious wild places, which—according to the government itself—don't hold enough fuel to make a difference.

Seeking Friendlier Skies

Now more than ever the aviation sector is focused on reducing its fuel use. But with global warming pollution from planes expected to increase 60 percent by 2025, it's clear that airlines also have a big role to play in efforts to curb greenhouse gases.

Biofuels

Biofuels have the potential to reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 1.7 billion tons per year. That's equal to more than 80 percent of our transportation-related emissions. Right now, the main biofuel on the market is ethanol, made from corn kernels. In order to maximize biofuels' carbon-cutting potential, however, we'll have to use more than just kernels. The biofuels of the future are called cellulosic biofuels, and they're made from the leaves, stems and stalks of a plant. These fuels could start flowing from gas pumps in the near future - at least six small commercial scale plants should be operational in the next few years.