Former NATO Commander Urges Shift To Ethanol

Gen. Wesley Clark, a decorated U.S. serviceman who served as the U.S.’ top NATO officer in Europe and who also ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004, says ethanol is a viable replacement for imported oil from unstable Middle Eastern nations which are being overcome with chaos.

In an op-ed he penned for Politico’s website on Thursday, Clark — who retired from a life in service and is now an ethanol lobbyist — lamented the effect that ongoing turmoil in Libya has had on oil prices, which have skyrocketed over $100 per barrel since protests against Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi began over a week ago.

Noting that the U.S. spends hundreds of billions annually on not only purchasing oil from OPEC nations, but using the Navy to protect our nation’s access to it, Clark said it’s time to change course.

“We need to stop sending money to Qatar, Libya and the United Arab Emirates,” he wrote. “We cannot rely on the political stability of those OPEC nations, and therefore cannot rely on their future oil supplies.”

Instead, Clark said, America should view ethanol, which is already used at low levels as a blend in gasoline, as a ready-now energy source alternative.

“It is not a someday fuel; it is replacing foreign oil today,” he wrote. “As our nation develops the technology to create other transportation fuels…ethanol is a perfect near-term solution to our current energy crisis.”

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