Over the last few years, gasoline prices have continued to play a vicious game of teeter-totter, and Missouri motorists are the ones left limping off the playground. Here in Missouri and across the nation, we are forced to pay a terrible price for our dependence on imported oil. We now have a chance to reduce that dependence by adopting a statewide energy standard that requires the increased use of ethanol, a homegrown fuel processed and refined right here in Missouri.

The Missouri Renewable Fuel Standard recently introduced in Missouri's legislature will move us further and faster toward the continued widespread use of this renewable fuel. By adopting a standard to blend most gasoline sold in Missouri with 10 percent ethanol, the General Assembly will begin to refocus our energy policy toward domestically produced renewable fuels and away from dangerous and costly foreign imports.

For more than two decades, Missouri's corn growers have led the fight for ethanol, but this fuel's benefits reach beyond the field. Ethanol offers major advantages in three areas that Missourians care about: our environment, our economy and our energy independence.

Our environment

The first of ethanol's environmental advantages: It is made from a renewable resource that's abundant in Missouri—corn. Last year, even in the face of drought, our state's corn farmers harvested over 315 million bushels. In addition to plentiful resources, ethanol-blended gasoline burns cleaner than conventional gasoline. It reduces carbon monoxide emissions by as much as 25 percent—and less carbon monoxide helps reduce ozone formation and greenhouse gas levels.

Millions of Americans have driven billions of trouble-free miles using ethanol-blended gasoline over the past quarter century. A 10 percent ethanol blend is safe to use in every car, truck and motorcycle. In fact, every automobile manufacturer since the 1980s has warranted the use of ethanol blends in their vehicles. Several companies including Ford and General Motors recommend the use of ethanol blends because they provide a cleaner burning fuel which reduces engine deposits.

In addition to cleaner air, ethanol is energy efficient. In June 2004, the U.S. Department of Agriculture updated its 2002 analysis of the issue and determined that a gallon of ethanol contains at least 67 percent more energy than it takes to produce. (For every 100 BTUs of energy used to make ethanol, 167 BTUs of ethanol is produced.) The USDA findings were confirmed by additional studies conducted by the University of Nebraska and Argonne National Laboratory.

This research, along with nine other studies, takes into account the entire life cycle of ethanol production. It includes the energy used to produce and transport corn, the energy used to produce ethanol, as well as the energy used in the distribution of ethanol in gasoline. This science solidly concludes that ethanol contains more energy than it takes to produce.

Our economy

The ethanol industry has opened a new market for corn growers in Missouri, allowing them to add value to their crops. But Missouri's ethanol production also creates jobs, many of which are in rural communities where good jobs are hard to come by.

Three ethanol plants in Craig, Macon and Malta Bend are already producing fuel, and research shows the state can support additional facilities. According to research conducted by Dr. Donald Van Dyne, a University of Missouri-Columbia professor emeritus, the direct and indirect benefits of five ethanol plants in Missouri would equate to 8,890 jobs, $845 million in economic output and $87 million in tax revenues while using over 71 million bushels of corn. Those kinds of numbers help all Missourians.

Our energy independence

Ethanol alone can't solve our energy needs, but it can make a big dent in oil imports. Ethanol opponents have tried to scare consumers by claiming ethanol supplies aren't reliable. What do you think: Are we better off depending on Middle Eastern sheiks for fuel or American farmers? Is it easier to ship ethanol 1,000 miles from Missouri to New York or oil 12,500 miles from Dubai to the United States?

Missouri's corn growers keep fighting for ethanol because it's right for Missouri citizens. The price we pay for relying on oil gets heavier every day. It's time we do something to help make the playing field a little more American. A Missouri Renewable Fuel Standard just makes good sense.

Gary Marshall is CEO of the Missouri Corn Growers Association.