(AP/CNSnews.com) - The Associated Press reports that "President Barack Obama's commitment to take on climate change and put science over politics is about to be tested as his administration faces a politically sensitive question about the widespread use of ethanol: Does it help or hurt the fight against global warming?"
According to the article, "the EPA is close to proposing ethanol standards. But two years ago, when Congress ordered a huge increase in ethanol use, lawmakers also told the agency to show that ethanol would produce less pollution linked to global warming than would gasoline." The AP notes that "environmentalists, citing various studies and scientific papers, say the agency must factor in more than just the direct, heat-trapping pollution from ethanol and its production. They also point to 'indirect' impacts on global warming from worldwide changes in land use, including climate-threatening deforestation, as land is cleared to plant corn or other ethanol crops."
The article states that "if indirect emissions from expected land use changes are included, ethanol probably would fail the test." An EPA spokeswoman declined to say when an agency proposal would be issued.
See the story at <http://www.cnsnews.com/public/content/article.aspx?RsrcID=47556>
