It's hardly news that the U.S. is dependent on overseas oil. In
fact, 60% of the syrupy crude comes from foreign sources.
Projections point to 70% dependence by 2010. That's subject to
change, however, with debate of the new energy bill that
contains the recent renewable fuels standard (RFS). More and
more, the fuel that powers gas and diesel engines across the
country will contain ethanol and biodiesel — homegrown from your
corn and soybeans. If passed, the federal requirement will
increase biofuels usage from 2 billion gallons in 2003 to 5
billion gallons by 2012. Especially significant is that the RFS
will help clean the air, reduce our dependence on foreign oil
and renew rural America, says Garry Niemeyer, Illinois Corn
Growers Association president. A study by AUS Consultants
reports that the RFS will create 214,000 new jobs in the U.S.
economy, displace 1.6 billion barrels of oil over the next
decade and increase investments in rural communities by more
than $5.3 billion. What's important is that the et