Ethanol and the Renewable Fuel Standard program that promotes its use is not about politics, as the Globe suggests; rather, it is about providing consumers options at the pump, lowering consumer gasoline costs, and reducing carbon emissions.
But oil companies, as the Globe’s editorial acknowledges, “never wanted the hassle” of renewable fuels. Indeed, that’s exactly why the RFS was necessary in the first place. Rolling back the RFS now would severely undermine the evolution of the biofuels industry by discouraging investments in new technologies; increase consumer gasoline costs as higher-priced gasoline replaces American-made ethanol; harm the environment by demanding ever-increasing supplies of petroleum from tar sands or fracking or deep-water drilling; and, reward those same oil companies with an estimated $15 billion windfall for their failure to invest in America’s energy future.
None of that sounds like a very good plan for Boston.