Bush calls for huge ethanol increase to cut gasoline use by 20 percent

(AP) President Bush is asking Congress to aggressively expand the use of alternative fuels, mainly ethanol, to reduce the need for gasoline and put the brakes on growing U.S. oil consumption.

The president's proposal aims to cut gasoline use by 20 percent by 2017, mostly by replacing the fuel with ethanol, and by expected improvements in automobile fuel economy.

The proposal in Tuesday night's State of the Union address rejects requiring automakers to boost the fuel economy of their new car fleets, but leaves open possible future increases if Congress provides more flexibility in the regulation.

The president also makes clear he has no plans to shift away from a largely voluntary program to address climate change, continuing to oppose mandatory reductions of so-called "greenhouse" gases.

Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said the president was "ducking the issue" of climate change by not embracing some mandatory emission reductions.

The energy proposal calls on Congress to require the annual use of 35 billion gallons of ethanol and other alternative fuels such as bio-diesel by 2017, a fivefold increase over current requirements. The ethanol would be in gasoline blends of 10 to 85 percent.

Motorists now use 140 billion gallons of gasoline a year.

White House aides said the sharp increase in alternative fuels and technological changes, including the use of more gas-electric hybrid cars, will cut projected gasoline demand by 20 percent over the next decade.

"It's a very ambitious goal, but it's one we think is achievable," said Deputy Chief of Staff Joel Kaplan.

Environmentalists and some Democrats in Congress said the proposals fall short of what's needed for energy security.

David Friedman of the Union of Concerned Scientists said that the president's expectations of fuel savings are in line with several Democratic fuel economy bills introduced in the Congress.

But the president, Friedman said, "gives no guarantee that it will happen." Without a requirement to meet specific fuel economy improvements, "what we're potentially left with is an empty promise filled with loopholes."

Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said the president "has put his toe in the waters" when it comes to saving gasoline, but that his plan "is clearly not enough without a real commitment that he will improve fuel economy standards."

Kaplan, in a briefing with reporters, acknowledged the administration could boost fuel economy requirements for automakers without congressional action but that "it would be a mistake" to do so without the additional flexibility. "It's not cost effective," he said.

The White House called the push for alternative fuels "a bold new initiative" that also would be expected to halt the growth of heat-trapping gases from passenger vehicles, which use 40 percent of the country's oil.

"It's a step in the right direction" but not a fundamental shift in the president's voluntary approach to dealing with global warming, said Eileen Claussen, president of the Pew Center on Global Climate Change.

"If you really want to address climate change, you need a mandatory program that covers all major sources," Claussen said.

The call for sharp increases in use of ethanol will get bipartisan support in Congress, where several bills including one calling for production of up to 60 billion gallons by 2030 already have been introduced.

But corn-based ethanol will fall far short of meeting such an increase.

Bush's fuels proposal, which is aimed at replacing 15 percent of gasoline use by 2017, envisions a major speedup of research into production of cellulosic ethanol _ made from wood chips, switch grass and other non-corn feedstock.

The president's upcoming proposed budget for fiscal 2008, will include $179 million for such biofuels and $2 billion in loans guarantees for cellulosic ethanol plants, the White House said.