Oil prices are heading skyward again with U.S. prices soaring past $100 a barrel. The average cost of a gallon of gasoline rose 7.5 cents nationwide in less than one week and there is growing concern that gas prices will continue to rise due to escalating political turmoil in the Middle East.

“Here we go again. With domestic oil now more than $100 a barrel and supplies reaching unexpected lows, gas price increases are sure to follow,” said Tom Buis, CEO of Growth Energy. “To put things in perspective, in May 2009, U.S. oil (WTI) was less than $40/barrel, today it is nearly 3 times that rate. Unfortunately we have experienced this all too often. Our nation’s addiction to oil continues to wreak havoc on our economy and our consumers. Unfortunately we have seen this play out over and over again for the past four decades; it always ends the same – higher prices for consumers at the pump.”

Buis notes that there is a better alternative: the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). The RFS sets goals for the production of clean renewable fuels and it is working. In fact, says Buis, it is the most successful energy policy enacted in the past 40 years. Today 10 percent of the nation’s gasoline supply contains home grown renewable ethanol.

“And we can do more; however, big oil is advocating that Congress eliminate the RFS,” said Buis. “In essence, they don’t want consumers to have alternatives to our addiction to oil – they don’t want consumers to have the choice of a cleaner, less expensive alternative.”

Buis continued, “It is time to get off the hamster wheel, a century of dependency on oil has left us vulnerable and with little choice. We can’t keep all of our eggs in one basket; we can’t stay dependent on one fuel source—we must embrace renewable fuels as an alternative to oil. It’s what American consumers want and deserve, moreover, it’s what America needs to break our dangerous addiction to foreign oil. We can’t let the oil industry continue to dictate what we pay at the pump, erecting barriers in the free market and blocking renewable fuel options,” added Buis.