How green is this Bush?

Sure Dubya wants to drill in ANWR (which is a good thing), but he's still "greener" than most give him credit for. WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)-[no link, off the wire]-The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee approved a measure Wednesday requiring U.S. refiners to add significantly more ethanol to the country's fuel supply than envisaged in previous legislation. The committee by voice vote approved adding to the Senate energy bill a requirement that U.S. refiners blend 8 billion gallons a year of ethanol into the country's fuel by 2012. The so-called ethanol mandate, 60% higher than that envisioned in the energy bill that failed in the previous Congress, is in line with the wishes of the fast-growing ethanol industry, which is already producing nearly 4 billion gallons a year. "This bill is not going through the Senate without an ethanol provision," said Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., the panel's chairman. The panel presented the mandate as a step to ease dependence foreign sources of oil by ramping up use of domestic fuels. The value of adding ethanol to the fuel mix is hotly debated, however, and many critics see the measure as a sop to farm states. The National Petrochemical and Refiners Association, for example, strongly opposes the mandate. The measure passed Wednesday requires that by 2013, 250 million gallons a year of ethanol be sourced from "cellulosic biomass" - that is, agricultural and timber-industry residues and plant waste aside from corn, the primary source. Now sure the people complaining are the "Big Oil" executives, but if what I've read about it is true, ethanol is a viable additive to fuel. Hell it's a viable fuel in its own right. Adding it to fuel which would in the long run decrease the amount of oil we need to fuel our economy, decrease our dependence on the Iron Fist ruling class of OPEC, decrease harmful emissions, and make the world a generally better place. Once Dubya signs it (hopefully)... put that in your pipes and smoke it you hippie tree huggers. UPDATE: Looks like the Aussies are getting into ethanol as well, recommending a 10% ethanol blend. Australian Ford beleives that any car made after 1998 will work fine on 10% ethanol. I don't see why it would be too different for American cars.