Growth Energy calls for country of origin labeling on all fuel sold in the United States.
The ethanol industry group, Growth Energy, is mounting a campaign to push for all fuel sold in the United States be labeled with a country of origin label (COOL), so consumers can be better informed about where their money is going after they swipe their card at the gas station.
The Label My Fuel initiative would create a COOL standard similar to requirements already in place for common consumer items, including apples, beef, cars and coffee.
"The American people deserve to know more about the gasoline they purchase every day -- where it comes from and where their hard-earned dollars ultimately go every time they fill up their cars and trucks," said General Wesley Clark at at the 2009 Farm Progress Show in Decatur, Illinois last week.
"The American people deserve to know the truth about the hidden costs of oil: The neighborhood filling station doesn't pump neighborhood gas -- it pumps a product of foreign origin that costs consumers and taxpayers billions of dollars every year," said Clark, adding that "It's past time for the American people to understand what our dependence on foreign oil costs our country and what they can do to help stop it."
According Tom Buis, CEO of Growth Energy, "American ethanol is the only existing alternative to gasoline today that is creating jobs, cutting greenhouse gas emissions and reducing our dependence on foreign oil." Buis added that country of origin labeling for fuel "will let consumers know if they are pumping a domestic-made fuel, like ethanol, or fuel from a foreign source."
The ethanol industry has been under continued scrutiny for instituionalizing a system that creates upward pressure on food costs. And now that the Renewable Fuel Standard is being reconsidered because of the deleterious effects on land use change and water quality, the ethanol industry seems to be appealing to nationalism, trying to reframe the debate in terms of energy independence.
via Clean Skies
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I find this worrisome– in theory it seems like a good idea, but what if people start to use the information in ways that are harmful (e.g. “Crap! This oil is from Venezuela. We need to drill in ANWR.”) Of course for ethanol, how much currently is American produced and how much comes from places like Brazil?