State needs to take the wheel on biofuels

Although you may not know it, Washington state, a blue territory proud of its green hue, lags behind those gas-guzzling red states in alternative biofuel stations. While Washington hosts just two ethanol-based E85 hubs (both non-public), other states, such as Iowa and Missouri, have over 20 public stations each.

Backed by a strong push from Sen. Maria Cantwell, the House and Senate recently negotiated an energy bill that included provisions for biofuel subsidies. While the provisions are not strong enough to ease our addiction to foreign oil, they are a good first step.

Buy why are we waiting for the federal government to do everything for us? Do we really expect D.C. to snub its big oil constituents? Where is the leadership from within our state?

Washington has the agricultural backbone of the east side to sustain a push for biofuels. Creating an inner-state biofuel economy would be a reciprocal success - the west side gets to use environmentally friendly fuel and wean itself off of oil, and Eastern Washington would see a stronger demand for its product.

But, outside of some weak tax incentives, the state government is doing little to jump-start the biofuel industry in Washington.

Ethanol-based fuels, such as E85 gasoline (85 percent ethanol mixed with gas), can be used in any of the 4 million flexible fuel cars on the road. Most people don't even realize that their car is capable of taking this ethanol blend.

It's up to our state's elected leaders to provide this education. Cantwell has pursued the endeavor at a national level; now it's time for Gov. Christine Gregoire and state legislators to turn on the biofuel ignition.

We're already lagging behind.