Jesse Batson

One of the prominent issues that President Bush touched on in his State of the Union address last week was the importance of utilizing ethanol as a primary source of energy.

“America is addicted to oil, which is often imported from unstable parts of the world,” said Bush.

Rick Eggebrecht, director of marketing for VeraSun Energy, agrees with that sentiment.

“We’re buying (oil) from people who don’t like us,” said Eggebrecht.

Bush’s energy initiative seeks that three-fourths of the oil imported from foreign countries will be replaced by 2025. He would like to see increased federal research in alternative fuels like ethanol made from weeds or wood chips rather than corn. Bush also proposed accelerated research in producing ethanol from cellulosic biomass sources like agricultural wastes or switchgrass with the goal of making cellulosic ethanol practical and competitive within the next six years.