As gas prices have been on the rise for more than 32 days, Bob Dinneen, President and CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) says that AAA might want to reconsider its recent attacks on ethanol. He writes in a post titled, “As Prices at the Pump Go Up, Up, Up American Ethanol is the Motorist’s Friend,” that through Memorial Day, gasoline prices will likely keep going up up, up.

“Over the past five years,” writes Dinneen, “gasoline prices have risen an average of $0.51 per gallon between New Year’s Day and the Memorial Day weekend. That means we could be looking at prices well above $4 per gallon as summer begins and families hit the road for vacation.”

“America’s growing use of domestically-produced ethanol reduced wholesale gasoline prices by an average of $1.09 per gallon in 2011, the most recent year for which complete statistics are available, according to a recent study conducted by economics professors at the University of Wisconsin and Iowa State University for the Center for Agricultural Research and Rural Development (CARD).”

Dinneen, after reviewing the positive impacts ethanol is having on both gasoline prices as well as dependence on foreign oil, concludes:

“All of this is something members of Congress need to consider as they assess legislation promoted by the oil industry to repeal or reform the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS). The RFS is working to expand domestic energy supply, encourage investment in new technologies, and reduce gasoline prices at the pump.”