Today is Earth Day and people from all over the country are doing “green” things to celebrate Mother Earth. Growth Energy is taking today to discuss how the ethanol industry is committed to improving the environment through the development of biofuels that reduce greenhouse gases.

“Our industry is committed to taking steps to mitigate harmful greenhouse gas emissions that have been shown to be a driving force in environmental damage,” said Tom Buis, CEO of Growth Energy. “That is why we are committed to producing clean, green, renewable and biodegradable fuels that are reducing our dependence on fossil fuels and are better for our environment.”

Buis notes that the benefits of using renewable fuels such as ethanol are tremendous.

For example, here are some facts about renewable fuels and the policy that promotes them: the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS):

• As a result of the RFS, ethanol is reducing greenhouse gases by an average of 34 percent compared to gasoline, according to the Argonne National Laboratory.
• In fact, in 2013, the 13.2 billion gallons of ethanol blended into gasoline in the United States helped reduce greenhouse gas emissions from on-road vehicles by approximately 38 million metric tons, which is the equivalent of removing roughly 8 million automobiles from the road.
• A main source of air pollution is automobile exhaust. A solution is to add oxygenates like ethanol to fuel. By increasing the amount of oxygen in the fuel, ethanol enhances engine combustion and reduces harmful tailpipe emissions of carbon monoxide, particulate matter, oxides of nitrogen and other ozone pollutants.
• Just a 10 percent blend of ethanol in fuel reduces tailpipe fine particulate matter emissions by 50 percent, while also reducing secondary particulate matter formation by diluting the aromatics contained in gasoline. This blend also reduces carbon monoxide emissions by up to 30 percent.

“As you can see, homegrown American fuels are truly making a difference when it comes to improving our environment. That is why it is imperative on this Earth Day to impress upon lawmakers the importance of the RFS and ensure they continue to support this successful energy policy,” added Buis.  “We need to continue on the path of innovation, and the partnership between first and next generation clean burning, biodegradable, environmentally friendly fuels, and the RFS is doing just that. We have come so far. Now is the time to move forward, not backward.”