Farmers have until next week (Sept. 25) to tell the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) what they think about the
proposed revised Renewable Fuel Standard regulations, known as
RFSII. There is much debate regarding the proposed standard due
to the fact the EPA wants to include the theory of Indirect Land
Use in its regulation, effectively creating a nationwide carbon
penalty for biofuels compared with gasoline, according to
biofuels industry supporters. The theory predicts that using
biofuels made from U.S. corn and soybeans causes a farmer
halfway around the world to make a land use decision to plow
virgin land to replace feed. It also suggests that any carbon
emissions resulting from this land use change should be ascribed
to biofuels. The biggest problem with ILUC theory, however, is
that there is no scientific consensus to its validity. Research
on the effects of biofuels on greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) is
relatively young, with most studies appearing just in the last
two or three years. EPA's current