When the Senate passed a wide-ranging energy bill in June, many
mainstream environmental groups applauded a provision in the legislation that
would require 36 billion gal of ethanol and other renewable fuels to be
blended into US gasoline supplies by 2022.

But on Wednesday, in a surprising development, a coalition of advocacy
groups called on key lawmakers to oppose the so-called Renewable Fuels
Standard (RFS) when the Senate and House convene a conference committee to
meld their respective energy bills.

In letters to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy
Pelosi, the groups, including Friends of the Earth and Rainforest Action
Network, said the RFS would not appreciably reduce heat-trapping carbon
dioxide emissions from the transportation sector. But they said it would cause
"substantial environmental damage" through the "intensive crop production and
processing" that it would spawn.

"The large-scale expansion of the biofuels industry mandated [in the
Senate bill] imperils our environment within the United States and globally,"
the groups told Reid and Pelosi. The groups noted that the RFS allows up to 15
billion gal of renewable fuels to be manufactured from corn, which they said
would lead to the "intensive application" of nitrogen-based fertilizers that
would pollute water sources.

The groups also expressed concern that "genetically engineered" crops
that are grown in an effort to meet the RFS would "irreparably harm forest
ecosystems."

The groups asked Reid and Pelosi to drop the RFS from the House-Senate
conference committee, saying it "will not promote sustainable agriculture and
will not mitigate global climate change." No date has been set for the
conference committee, although Reid may name conferees when the Senate returns
to session next week.