Alternative Energy Can Move State Forward

            Anyone who has watched the news or made the commute into Birmingham on a regular basis has noticed the ever increasing costs of gasoline over the last few years.  This is not a problem that will go away, it will only get worse.  The United States and in turn Alabama, have grown more dependent on an energy source that comes disproportionately from an area of the world that is unstable and highly volatile.

We must explore alternative energy sources to wean our way off of oil dependency.  By establishing a more diverse use of fuel consumption we create a more independent American consumer and a stronger economy.  Some of the most common alternative sources of energy are from agriculture products such as corn, peanut oil, grain, switch grass and vegetable oil. Fortunately Alabama has an abundance of natural resources that can be tapped to help produce alternative fuels for our cars and businesses.

The two most common types of bio-fuels are ethanol and bio-diesel.  In addition to reducing our dependence on oil from the Middle East and Venezuela, both of these fuels are cleaner and less toxic than traditional gasoline.  Bio-diesel is clean burning and is proven to reduce greenhouse gas build up in the atmosphere.  The long term environmental quality of bio-diesel are also clear when you look a study completed in 1999 by the University of California showing pure bio-diesel emissions reduce cancer risks by over 94%.

By investing in bio-technology we can have a bio-fuel industry based right here in Alabama. With agriculture still the most dominant industry in our state bio-diesel has the potential to galvanize the rural economy of Alabama and open up new markets for our home grown products.  The United States currently borrows more than $200 million a year from foreign countries to pay for imported oil.  Imagine if we could replace that money with an investment back into our economy in the form of bio-fuels produced at home instead of oil pumped abroad.  Quite simply bio-diesel makes good sense for the consumers and economy of Alabama.

State government must remove the red tape and barriers that can hinder the development of these new bio-fuels.  By offering tax credits to companies willing to develop these technologies based upon Alabama products.  Too often government is a road block to progress as opposed to a facilitator.  Alternative energy can move our state forward in ways it has never progressed before.  The legislature needs to act now in providing the necessary tax incentives to making this progress a reality.