Senator Thune of South Dakota wants the EPA to act fast on a proposal to allow E20, a blend of 20 percent ethanol and 80 percent gasoline. In a letter to the EPA, Thune noted that Minnesota will be requesting a waiver allowing Minnesotans to use E20, and asks the agency to consider extending that to other states that opt for E20.
What's the hurry? The executive director of the South Dakota Corn Growers Association told the AP that the ethanol industry needs the proposed change to increase demand. In his letter, Thune sang the same song: "We've got to continue to grow the demand for and usage of and develop the ethanol market for all the reasons everybody agrees are important, energy independence, clean air and obviously a good economy in the Midwest." They may not be making ethanol out of pork yet in South Dakota, but they sure know how to make pork out of ethanol.
