The country seems more eager than ever to go green and diminish pollution

Jul 27, 2012 18:51 GMT  ·  By

US' Department of Energy and Department of Agriculture just made it public news that they are to enter a partnership aimed at improving on the country's biofuel production.

To be more precise: $41 million (about €33,5 million) are to be invested in as much as 13 biofuel and feedstock projects, the end goal being that of helping American citizens and industries rid themselves of their dependence on energy sources which negatively impact on the environment.

The official press release, which can be read in its entirety on AutoblogGreen, quotes US' Agriculture Secretary, Tom Vilsack, who made a case of how, “If we want to develop affordable alternatives foi oil and gasoline that will help reduce our dependence on foreign oil, we need investments like these projects to spur innovation in bioenergy.”

He goes on to explain that, “By producing energy more efficiently and sustainably, we can create rural jobs, boost rural economies and help US farmers, ranchers and foresters prosper.”

The same source informs us that said money will be distributed as follows: out of the total of 13 green-oriented projects, 5 will be aimed at developing suitable replacements for gasoline and diesel in vehicles.

The remaining 8 will focus on coming up with efficient and environmentally-friendly energy sources by improving on existing feedstocks.

These latter projects are a must if US' biofuel production is to really take off because, as explained on the official website for the country's Department of Energy, “Major agricultural crops grown today for food, feed and fiber in the United States have not been bred for biofuels, so many carefully selected traits – such as high ratio of seed to straw production – are disadvantageous in biofuel production.”

Seeing how not long ago we also reported on the US' decision to invest in harvesting tidal power, and also given the fact that this country is also looking into the possibility of making the most out of the solar energy it has at its disposal, it seems to us that Americans might soon set as example to other nations in terms of sustainable development.

In order to inform the general public with respect to biofuels, the Department of Energy also made a short video, which you can watch down below.