A top priority for the National Wildlife Federation is to fix the ethanol mandate. Stay informed about the latest developments in the effort to reform the mandate—formally known as the Renewable Fuel Standard. Stay abreast of current events in the U.S. Congress, latest science trends, and happenings in the field.
Media Requests
To arrange for an interview with one of our experts, or to be added to our media list, please contact Jordan Lubetkin at 734-887-7109 or Lubetkin@nwf.org.
Social Media
Follow @EcoFuelNWF on Twitter for the latest information on efforts to fix the ethanol mandate.
Resources
Stay informed about the latest developments in the effort to reform the Renewable Fuel Standard by reading supporting materials, including:
Reports
The National Wildlife Federation is committed to conveying the latest science documenting the impacts of the ethanol mandate and what can be done to solve the problem.
- Burned: Deception, Deforestation, and America’s Biodiesel Policy (2018). Investigative report from Mighty Earth and ActionAid USA looking at the ethanol mandate’s role in driving massive international deforestation.
Read the report - “US Cropland expansion released 115 million tons of carbon (2008-2012)” (2017). Summary of research from the University of Wisconsin-Madison presented at the America’s Grasslands Conference on November 15th, 2017 in Fort Worth, TX.
Read the report - “Recent grassland losses are concentrated around U.S. ethanol refineries” (2017). Peer-reviewed study co-authored by the National Wildlife Federation and published in the journal Environmental Research Letters finds grassland losses—more than 2.7 million acres—concentrated around ethanol refineries.
Read the report - Fueling Destruction: The Unintended Consequences of the Renewable Fuel Standard on Land, Water, and Wildlife (2016). Definitive look at the ethanol mandate’s impact on land and water resources and what can be done to reform the Renewable Fuel Standard.
Read the report - “Cropland expansion outpaces agricultural and biofuel policies in the United States” (2015). National assessment from the University of Wisconsin and published in Environmental Research Letters documenting land conversion in the years following implementation of the Renewable Fuel Standard.
Read the report
Fact Sheets
Learn more about the ethanol mandate, formally known as the Renewable Fuel Standard.
- Petition to EPA to revise its “aggregate compliance” approach. Earthjustice and Clean Air Task Force submitted a petition to EPA on behalf of National Wildlife Federation and 12 other groups to stop habitat loss under the Renewable Fuel Standard. Learn more about the massive land conversion that has occurred since the law was enacted.
See the fact sheet - Ethanol Impacts to Sportsmen. Read more about how the ethanol mandate damages boat engines and impacts sportsmen.
See the fact sheet - GREENER Fuels Act Q&A. Here are some quick answers about the GREENER Fuels Act, which refocuses the ethanol mandate away from corn ethanol.
See the fact sheet - Ethanol Mandate 101. Learn more about the ethanol mandate. What is the mandate? Why was it created? What’s wrong with it? And what can be done to fix it?
See the fact sheet - Principles for Reform. The National Wildlife Federation has joined with other conservation partners and put forward common-sense reforms to the ethanol mandate that work for family farmers while protecting our health and advancing clean fuels the right way.
See the fact sheet
Press Releases
To be added to our media list, please contact Jordan Lubetkin, Lubetkin@nwf.org, (734) 887-7109.
- Groups Petition EPA to Stop Habitat Loss due to the Ethanol Mandate
October 30, 2018
Environmental and conservation groups filed a petition with EPA, asserting the agency has illegally allowed millions of acres of wildlife habitat to be converted to corn and soybean crops to satiate federal biofuels policy under the Renewable Fuel Standard.
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- NWF: Ethanol Gambit Simply Not Legal
October 9, 2018
The Trump Administration announced that it plans to expand the sale of gasoline with higher ethanol content year-round—a move that is not legally allowed under the Clean Air Act.
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- NWF to EPA: Fix Renewable Fuel Standard, Reverse Years of Damage to Water, Wildlife Habitat, Climate
July 18, 2018
At a hearing in Ypsilanti, Michigan, the National Wildlife Federation urged the U.S. EPA to make urgent reforms to the federal Renewable Fuel Standard to reverse years of environmental damage.
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- EPA Report: Biofuels Policy Harming Environment
July 3, 2018
A long-overdue report from the U.S. EPA confirms that the nation’s biofuels mandate has contributed to negative environmental impacts.
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- NWF Urges Congress to Address Administration’s Failure to Fix Flawed Ethanol Mandate
June 26, 2018
The National Wildlife Federation urged Congress to intervene after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today proposed to increase blending levels under the Renewable Fuel Standard.
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- NWF to Congress: Biofuels Policy Neglecting Sustainable Fuels
June 25, 2018
National Wildlife Federation President and CEO Collin O’Mara testified before the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Environment Subcommittee on the need for the U.S. Congress to reform the Renewable Fuel Standard to promote advanced fuels that are more sustainable than first-generation biofuels.
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- NWF on EPA’s Proposed Clean Air Waiver for Higher Ethanol Gasoline: Don’t put Politics Ahead of Public Health
June 6, 2018
U.S. Senator Tom Udall and U.S. Representative Peter Welch sent a letter to EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt to point out agency’s own opinion that it does not have the authority to grant pursuing an exemption from clean air protections for higher blends of ethanol in gasoline.
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- Stronger Labeling Laws Step in Right Direction to Reform Ethanol Mandate
May 24, 2018
U.S. Representatives Austin Scott (R-Ga.) and Lois Frankel (D-Fla.) introduced the Consumer Protection and Fuel Transparency Act of 2018 (H.R. 5855), which requires the Environmental Protection Agency to increase gasoline labeling and outreach to the public on how to safely use fuel containing more than 10 percent ethanol.
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- White House Waives Clean Air Act Protections, OKs Sale of More Ethanol in Gasoline
May 8, 2018
The Trump Administration announced it would waive Clean Air Act protections and allow the sale of gasoline with 15 percent ethanol (E15) across the United States—a move that the National Wildlife Federation strongly opposes.
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- Conservation Groups Champion Bill to Reform Biofuel Mandate
March 8, 2018
The GREENER Fuels Act invests more than $11 billion to reverse impacts of mandate, puts forth solutions to protect drinking water, restore wildlife habitat, and confront climate change.
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- NWF: Trump Administration Embraces Same Flawed Ethanol Policy
November 30, 2017
As the final rule for next year’s mandated volumes of corn ethanol and other biofuels were established by the EPA, National Wildlife Federation calls on Congress to step up and reform the law before it does any more damage to wildlife, habitat, water quality, and our changing climate.
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- New Research: Ethanol Mandate Contributing to Climate Change
November 15, 2017
New research from the University of Wisconsin finds the massive conversion of habitat to cropland has led to release of climate-disrupting pollution equivalent to 20 million additional cars on the road per year.
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- U.S. House Members Ask EPA Chief Pruitt to Fix Ethanol Mandate
November 7, 2017
More than 60 members of the U.S. House of Representatives sent a letter to U.S. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, urging him to fix the broken corn ethanol mandate.
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- National Wildlife Federation Supporters to Congress: Time to Tackle Ethanol Mandate
October 5, 2017
As yet another farm runoff-fueled algal bloom blankets Lake Erie, the National Wildlife Federation today delivered more than 20,000 comments to the U.S. Congress, urging public officials to fix the corn ethanol mandate to protect the nation’s wildlife and drinking water.
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- Henry Waxman, National Wildlife Federation, Sierra Club and Others Urge EPA and Congress to Reduce Biofuel Mandates
August 31, 2017
A growing coalition of environmental and anti-hunger groups, including former U.S. Rep. and Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman, now chairman of Mighty Earth, urged the EPA today to reconsider and reduce mandates for conventional, food-based biofuels.
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- NWF to EPA: Time to Fix Ethanol Mandate, Protect Wildlife, Water
August 1, 2017
In public testimony to the U.S. EPA, the National Wildlife Federation today urged the agency do more to protect the nation’s clean water, wildlife, and public health from the negative consequences of the federal corn ethanol mandate.
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- In Major Victory, Conservation Groups Beat Back Attempt to Expand Use of Corn Ethanol
July 21, 2017
In a major victory to protect the health of people and wildlife, the U.S. Senate’s Environment and Public Works Committee announced today that it would not hold a vote on a controversial bill to weaken Clean Air Act protections and open the door for increased corn ethanol production.
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- Administration Doubles Down on Harmful Ethanol Policy
July 6, 2017
The Trump Administration today proposed to maintain volumes required under the federal corn ethanol mandate next year, while lowering the requirement for advanced biofuels.
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- New Study Links Habitat Destruction to Ethanol Production
March 21, 2017
Millions of acres of wildlife habitat are being lost to crop production, according to a new peer-reviewed study published today in the journal Environmental Research Letters, which found a strong link between the location of corn ethanol refineries and the conversion of wildlife habitat and other land types into crop production.
Read the Release
Latest Updates
Read dispatches from Washington, D.C., and around the country to learn what’s going on in the movement to reform the ethanol mandate.
Read more here
- The White House’s Illegal Ethanol Boost Would Hurt People and Wildlife by David DeGennaro
- Fighting a Global Tide of Ethanol: From Canada to Mexico and Beyond by David DeGennaro
- Burned: Deception, Deforestation, and America’s Biodiesel Policy by Mighty Earth and ActionAid USA