Are Ethanol Mandates Making America More Energy Secure?

In 2007, Congress passed an expanded Renewable Fuel Standard, or RFS, which mandates that large quantities of biofuel-- made from corn and other biomass—be blended into the fuel supply each year.

What does energy security look like under the RFS? Not much. Ethanol distorts energy markets, and the government's own Energy Information Administration projects that the U.S. will still rely on oil and natural gas products for more than half of its energy needs for decades to come.