This story was originally published by Mother Jones and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration.
As the Republican governor of Wisconsin, Scott Walker has resisted the federal government’s support of the biofuel industry. But last weekend, within the borders of corn-rich Iowa — the state upon which Walker appears most intensely focused for his all-but-announced presidential bid — he sang a different tune. Joining other potential candidates at the Iowa Ag Summit, Walker said he was “willing to go forward on continuing the Renewable Fuel Standard,” a federal policy that requires fuel used in the U.S. to contain at least 10 percent “renewable fuel,” usually ethanol and other biofuel.
As the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel noted, this represents a complete about-face for Walker, who made enemies in Wisconsin for his long resistance to robust ethanol subsidies. Corn is Wisconsin’s most important crop, and in 2012, the state was the nation’s second-biggest ethanol exporter. In January 2014, Walker stayed quiet on a federal proposal to cut ethanol use by 3 billion gallons. That silence angered biofuel producers in ... Read more
