According to a recent report from the New York Times, mandates put forward by Congress may not be able to be met because of the reduction in fuel demands, which are the result of the recession.
"And that decline could well continue, as cars become more efficient under other recent government mandates," the Times noted.
According to the mandates put forward by the government, refineries are supposed to use 15 billion gallons of biofuel in their operations by 2012. But, the drop in demand may make that impossible.
The solutions presented to solve the problem are not likely to please everyone. For example, to use all the fuel, the maximum percentage of ethanol in gas could be increased. However, members of the auto industry say this could damage cars, making them less environmentally friendly.
And reducing the amount of biofuels that must be used would be unacceptable to farmers, who help produce the products that create ethanol.
According to fueleconomy.gov, ethanol is a fuel that is alcohol-based and is produced by fermenting things such as corn. It can also be produced from other sources, such as grass and wood.
