Bush pushes biofuels

The administration wants to spend 1.6 billion on ethanol research.
WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) -- President Bush, trying to add urgency to his shrinking domestic agenda, said Wednesday that America will be held hostage by oil if it doesn't change its habits.
"Dependence on oil provides an economic and national security risk, a problem that this country better start dealing with in a serious fashion -- now," Bush said in a speech to employees of DuPont Co., a chemical giant and leading researcher of energy alternatives.
The president used a quick trip to Delaware to promote biofuels such as cellulosic ethanol, which can be made from wood chips, switchgrass and corn-plant parts such as stalks and leaves.
Ramping up production of alternative fuels is one way Bush says the nation can cut consumption of gasoline by up to 20 percent over 10 years. The other key element of Bush's plan, as outlined in his State of the Union speech Tuesday, promotes higher fuel-economy standards for cars.
Bush cast the energy debate in terms of terrorism, depicting scenarios in which oil-rich enemies could disrupt the United States by targeting its reliance on gas-powered vehicles.
"If a terrorist were able to destroy infrastructure somewhere else in the world, it's going to affect what you pay for at the gasoline pump," Bush said at the Hotel DuPont.
Bush signed an executive order that calls on the federal government to use more alternative fuels and less petroleum -- a way for the administration to set an example with its agencies.
Here's the situation
Some lawmakers appeared receptive to Bush's energy ideas, although environmentalists and other critics described the president's approach as belated and limited.
He is also up against several forces in the final quarter of his presidency: a vastly unpopular war, a Democratic Congress and low approval ratings.
In a political irony, Bush was in the hometown of Sen. Joseph Biden even as the Delaware Democrat led the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in condemning Bush's troop increase in Iraq.
The administration proposed Wednesday to spend 1.6 billion on ethanol as part of Bush's goal to sharply reduce gasoline usage over the next decade.
The funding will help develop new sources of ethanol, which now comes mostly from corn.
Another concern
Demand for ethanol has been driving up the cost of corn, making it more expensive to feed cows, chickens and pigs and raising concern in the livestock industry. Beef, dairy, pork and poultry groups are asking the Agriculture Department to study ethanol's effects on their costs.
Meantime, the administration is asking Congress for the power to set high fuel-efficiency standards for cars, using a system it says will preserve choices and safety for costumers. But it opposes any legislation that would simply set a higher fuel-economy standard.
Bush also has not endorsed proposals for mandatory reductions of greenhouse gas emissions.
DuPont was one of the corporations that urged Congress this week to require limits on such greenhouse gases, contending voluntary efforts to combat climate change are not enough.
"President Bush has never looked more out of step on global warming," said Kevin Curtis, senior vice president for the National Environmental Trust. "Companies like DuPont realize that limits on heat-trapping pollution are coming, and they want to start planning today."
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