In the last two years, we have heard the words, ?follow the science? more times than we can probably count. Mainly it has been in reference to COVID-19, but the same has been said in areas like agriculture.
As public policy seeks to put environmental concerns at the forefront, the biofuels industry has been hard at work explaining that a viable source of cleaner fuel is already here. Electric cars are the goal of the Biden Administration but could still be a long way down the road for many of us. However, fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel are ready to go now.
Both sides of that debate are arguing how to make the planet cleaner, and how we can reduce our need for fossil fuels. To that end, they both have a common enemy with very deep pockets, the oil industry. They have been receiving tax breaks for over a century and buying up or silencing alternatives for decades. They aren?t about to go down without a fight.
So, what does this have to do with science? While proponents of biofuels and electric vehicles are debating on the best strategy for a cleaner environment, Big Oil is trying to show that it is a victim of environmental policy. That many of their ?small refineries?, that are owned by huge oil companies so they try and squeak into Small Refinery Exemptions, can?t survive on billions of dollars annually and a lion’s share of the fuel market.
To achieve this goal, big oil is commissioning studies by every ally it has. They?re mobilizing the politicians who support them. They are also looking at every study that gives them an opportunity to misconstrue the data in their favor. What it boils down to is that there are numerous studies showing the benefits of biofuels, and a new study is blatantly following politics and not science, according to Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor. She says that a new study is blatant propaganda.
She says that the information is still the same cherry-picked, debunked information that big oil has been putting out for almost a decade. These ?facts? have been refuted by institutions such as the USDA, Harvard, MIT, and the University of Illinois.
Skor says that Growth Energy is working hard to put factual science in front of lawmakers and the American public while trying to make sure that big oil isn?t skewing information to show a hardship that is not even there.
