Huffstutter, P., & Weinraub, M. (2020). Trump’s agriculture department announces 30% biofuel
goal for 2050. Reuters. Retrieved 9 March 2020, from https://www.reuters.com/article
/us-usa- ethanol/trumps-agriculture-department-announces-30-biofuel-goal-for-2050-
idUSKBN20E1F3.

 

The Trump administration has laid out goals for biofuel infusion in US transportation fuels. These goals include a 15% blend rate in the next ten years and a 50% blend rate by 2050. The plan stands in contrast to the administration’s current actions of giving biofuel waivers to over 30 refineries. Another goal set by the administration is to boost farm production by 40% while reducing their environmental impact by half in that same ten year time period. Surprisingly, the EPA has been historically opposed to an increase in biofuel blend rate, but approved 15% blended fuel for sale in 2019.

 

This article relates to environmental science because it encompasses politics, chemistry, and economics. Higher blend rates in fuels would reduce the carbon output of transportation and it backed by powerful political support; meanwhile, the economics of the matter are polarized. Donald Trump’s political action is divisive as his administration has made it seem like a goal of theirs is to prop up the fossil fuel industry for as long as they can. Trump is subsidizing coal and trying to keep as many coal mining jobs as possible, even though it is a dying industry, so it seems like a step in the right direction for his administration to look to the future and see where our power should be coming from.