The long march to energy independence: Part 3

Attempts to end the US ‘addiction to oil’ in the early 2000s had some unintended negative consequences

The energy programmes introduced into the US by the administration of President George W Bush between 2001 and 2009 required that renewable fuels, principally ethanol, be substituted for gasoline. After Bush declared that “America is addicted to oil” in a State of the Union address, the rush was on to replace gasoline with renewables. Congress, backed by agricultural interests, quickly passed the Renewable Fuels Act (RFA). By 2021, 10% of the fuel supplied to American consumers was derived from crops rather than crude oil. The Bush regulations boosted corn demand and created an agricultural boom. Data published by the US Department of Agriculture includes details on cash prices and informati