Since 2005, when Congress passed a federal mandate to blend corn-based ethanol and other renewable fuels into conventional gasoline, the increased demand for corn – which has supplied nearly all of these mandated fuels to date – has resulted in a major transformation of the landscape. Farmers, hoping to take advantage of rising prices for corn and other commodity crops, converted more than 7 million acres of native prairie, rangeland, wetlands, and forests into cropland. This act, which was supposed to curb carbon emissions and encourage renewable energy resources, has instead encouraged farmers to clear land, drain wetlands, and apply more fertilizers, pesticides, and irrigation water to maximize their production.
On this episode of Locus Focus we talk with National Wildlife Federation President Collin O’Mara, about the NWF's new report Fueling Destruction, which brings to light the unintended consequences of requiring the use of corn-based fuels, and calls on Congress to change the law to protect wildlife populations, safeguard clean water, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
- KBOO