Committee looks to get to the bottom of bio-fuel controversy

Talk about it

A state legislative committee wants to get to the bottom of the bio-fuel controversy.

Six lawmakers and 13 other members recently met for the first time and they’ve heard from numerous people on the state of renewable fuels.

The panel’s chairman, Sen. Pat Kreitlow, D-Chippewa Falls, says they’re trying to get an honest assessment about the state of the industry and all its pros and cons.

The committee is trying to learn as much as possible about the costs, benefits and setbacks of bio-fuels.

They’re also looking into the various criticisms of renewable fuels to see if they’re legitimate and not outdated.

Kreitlow says he’s especially concerned about Milwaukee area critics. He says they keep bringing up bits and pieces of an outdated study which says corn-based ethanol is bad for the air. He says every other piece of evidence shows the opposite.

A couple years ago, conservative Milwaukee talk radio hosts urged listeners to put the heat on lawmakers who later struck down a requirement that gasoline sold in Wisconsin have 10 percent ethanol.

But they’re not the only critics. The Wall Street Journal claims ethanol has caused corn and grocery prices to skyrocket.

But one government study said ethanol can only be blamed for 3 percent of the whopping 40 percent jump in world food prices this year.

Tags: wisconsin news, biofuel, controversy