any need for increase demand for gasoline and diesel fuel is likely to be met by biofuels. we do not see a significant need for additional refining capacity in the united states. >> this is another graphic from the u.s. energy information administration, based on 2009. and the graph shows 61% of what we pay comes from the crude oil cost. 18% federal and state taxes refining costs and profits. 11%. distribution in marketing. a lot of people are very interested in the profit question. for example, this viewer by twitter says why are you afraid to ask what the profit per gallon is? what percentage of the 11% is to profit as opposed to refining costs? and may i also add, this is at 231. will that 11% stay constant now? >> guest: no, in fact, it's almost better rather than to think in terms of percent, how many cents per gallon. >> host: okay. >> guest: part was it stay very stable. like federal and state taxes stay stable at 40 cents per gallon. the distribution and retailing costs and profits tends to be fairly stable, let's they 25 to 30 cents per gallon. and the parts that f

you hear about the challenges of producing biofuel in the u.s.sions. this runs about an hour. >> arai. while everyone is getting hooked up i will try to keep your attention because i'm going to introduce darrell jenkins, our moderator. this is really a very important panel that we have coming up. for all of you who are leaving, don't forget coming you can't, you can't win any of the tickets if you don't come back. so, with that admonition, i am very pleased to be able to introduce a longtime friend and a fellow farmer come and that is something very important that darrell jenkins and i have in common. but darrell has been an independent consultant to the aviation industry for about 30 years i think. more or less. and he has worked with a majority of the world's top 50 airlines, in addition to having been the former director of the ohio state university and online operations center, and he also has a handbook on airline economics. his background is seat with aviation, and i know you'll enjoy reading his bio in today's program. but i'd like now to

the real opportunity is biofuels. we formed a $12 billion joint venture around current technology for producing large scale amounts of biofuels as well as adding to that very intense research and development we have been doing to take that to the next level. it's exciting stuff. we're talking about using enzymes to speed up the con serges to ethanol and another technology that potentially skips the ethanol step to a biomass and gasoline or diesel equivalent. exciting business. >> in addition to some comments made here, we're the largest producer with geothermals. that's great for us. we, too, are making investments in advanced biofuels and believe it will be some time before those come to market. one opportunity i think is out there during this transition phase you talked about is energy efficiency investments. we have an energy efficiency company that makes investments in educational institutions and elsewhere to reduce energy consumed. it's an opportunity across this country. >> thank you, senator. >> thank you very

the one that is emerging is biofuels. we have recently formed a $12 billion joint development around current technologior producing large scale amounts of biofuel and adding to this intense research and development we have been doing to take that to the next level. host: from yesterday's hearings let me introduce you to our guest this morning. be hear to talk about what really affects gasoline prices. administrator of the u.s. energy information administration. thank you for being here. you are the seventh person to hold that job. when was the agency formed and what are your tasks? guest: the energy information administration was formed in response to the oil crisis of 1973-1974, the same period of time when the department of energy was brought together. it has been in existence a number of decades. one of the initial missions and continuing missions is to attract oil production, consumption, gasoline prices and consumption. our general role within the government is to collect, analyze and communicate independent and impa

biofuels are the largest an best alternatives to imported oil.we produce more biofuels in this country than we import gasoline from canada. our largest source of foreign imports. that's why in march, mr. president, i introduced new legislation with senator tim johnson that would significantly boost our nation's biofuels production and biofuels infrastructure while also providing long-term standards for increasing renewable energy production and major energy efficiency improvements. first our bill would provide consumers with more choices at the gas pump by expanding biofuels infrastructure and increase alternative fuel vehicles specifically it would expand the availablity of blender pumps that are capable of dispensing different blends of ethanol and gasoline. it would provide loan guarantees to build biofuel pipelines and require half of the cars produced in 2015 to be flex fuel vehicles, natural gas powered, electric powered or hybrid vehicles. the bill would face down and invently phase out the ethanol tax credit. this credit is serving its pu

department of energy administered grant in the amount of $951,500 to conduct a brown grease recovery and biofuel demonstration project. supervisor avalos: very good. >> good morning. my name is terry leigh. i have been the project manager for the biodiesel demonstration. the resolution before you would allow the city to retroactively except and expand approximately $951,500 in department of energy funds for demonstrations. awarded in 2009, the department of energy became very busy in awarding and expanding the american recovery and investment act funds to route 2002. which is why we are now able to accept this grant. these funds would allow for boundaries, restaurant trap ways, to be converted into clean burning biodiesel. it is important for the city because the san francisco public utilities commission sewer department spent $3.5 million each year addressing greece blockage in the sewers. in addition, fed and cisco has successfully transitioned its vehicle fleet from diesel to cleaner burning biodiesel. this demonstration furnishes technology that would allow the city to recover what is consid

of algae biofuels from south fire energy and general atomics and other companies. we need new sources of energy not just below our feet but above our feet and in our minds where we get the intellectual capital to get these -- to invent these technologies. that's an all of the above strategy. let's get real short-term relief. defeat this bill and get a real energy policy for this country. the chair: the gentleman from washington. mr. hastings: i'm going to reserve my time. the chair: the gentleman from washington reserves his time. the gentleman from massachusetts. mr. markey: can you please tell me how much time is remaining in the chair: the gentleman from massachusetts has 3 1/2 minutes remain, the gentleman from the state of washington has 10 minutes remaining. mr. markey: i would ask the gentleman from washington state to please -- mr. hastings: i have a speaker coming to the floor right now. at this time i'm pleased to yield two minutes to the gentleman from arizona, mr. flake. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. flake: i thank the gent

it -- the bill actually redefines cellusic biofuels as next generation biofuel. the previously defined celluosic biofuel carveout is expanded to include algae and other nanette knoll renewable fuels derived from renewable biomass. so this is something that is not going to be incompatible. it's going to be very compatible with -- with our interest here. so anyway, for those people who say well, you know, we demand to have corn-based ethanol, that's fine, you can have it because all this is is choice. if we and the people of my state of oklahoma want to have a choice of clear gas or corn ethanol, they should be able to do it. i honestly don't think there is a legitimate argument against that. so i plan to try to get some cosponsors. i think my good friend from florida might be interested in cosponsoring something like this because this gives choice to the people of his state as well as my state. now, with that, i just want to mention one other thing, if i could, mr. president. you can go ahead and take that if you want to. i have made four speeches on the floor the

of course of people realize there's a lot of money in corn for that biofuel what happens effectively is that there's less land put aside for wheat and so then of course you once again have this supply and demand issue and of course what we're seeing is that yields are stagnant in other words we are not seeing those green revolution doubles and triple yields that we saw that certainly in the eighty's we're not seeing anything that's that's that's all we've got and so therefore what we're seeing also very disturbing are these land grabs across the globe saudi arabia and china and other countries throughout africa and it's neo colonialism it's colonialism all over again and this is going to be very problematic particularly for countries that are food insecure that are net food importers like egypt like the middle east north africa this in this contributes to tremendous political unrest as we've just seen we really couldn't i mean i'm just out of time but neocolonialism what you need by that just real quickly what's behind that allegation but what i'm saying is that you have countries wi

we do work with them but we collect our own data of biofuel use. host: ohio, an independent, jeanne. caller: how is it the oil companies, to own the oil? it is all in the hands of shell and exxon and its private companies? did they purchased the land outright? was there any taxpayer money involved? are these really american companies? do they have any obligations to act in the interest of the american people in termshe yeas are 228 with one recorded as present. the motion is not adopted. the question is on the passage of the bill. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes have it. the gentleman from maryland, for what purpose dwow rise? >> i ask for a recorded vote. the speaker pro tempore: a recorded vote is requested. all those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted. a sufficient number having arisen, a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. this will be a five-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc.,

>> that law was introduced as a biofuel into the u.s. and it has been very successful. we're not opposed to the transitional incentive being phased out. we think it is important for second-generation biofuels. >> im glad we are noting that. there is no question in terms of energy policy that often you need an incentive to get something off of the ground. clearly what he is talking about is that incentive made since the beginning, but it doesn't make sense now. i think it is constructive that you said you'd be willing to phase it out. i thank you. >> i think that we should all look at them. all the tax expenditures. all of the incentives to see which ones are more effective than others and we can get rid of a fewf them. it is a difficult question for all us. cholera about a hundred and 31 tax provisions. they are a nightmare. it makes no sense. under an 41 times every 18 months that they have to be paid for is just maddening. we will be looking at a lot of these provisions and hers. i like to eliminate a lot of those so there is not a lot of uncertainty surrounding our s

whether it is biofuels or what. your general advice to us, does that mean that maybe we should lower the rate and also cut back? by definition we have to. this is hard to do. >> i would support all of that. i think everything for everybody everywhere has to be on the table. we will repeal a for everybody across the board. the city will broaden the tax base. i only use 199. there is a whole host of elements to our tax code that is very complex. simplifying the tax -- sen use it. some do not. we are creating this. we have to make it more attractive for people to invest and create revenues. >> you go along with them. your scaling back. -- you are scaling back. >> it needs an overhaul. i tend to live by making the united states more attractive. do not harm american competitiveness overseas. it brings wealth back to this country. it keeps the playing field level. we love to compete. we thrive on competition. >> you want to make it simpler? make in a way that is consistent for everyone? there is certainty that we do not a

not only better for the environment than traditionals gas by biofuel is better for your bottom line.> right now alcohol is 80 cents cheaper than gasoline at the pump. >> and that has drivers all over lining up to pump up. >> i love this gas. >> only 3.49 compared to 4.25. >> every day we are driving 100 miles so we are going to save at least $60 a week. >> reporter: biofuel is becoming so popular. there are apps to locate the nearest station which could be hard to find. >> i wish they had one on the other side of the tunnel. i would be going there all the time. >> reporter: there are currently less than 200 stations like this. gm and ford have committed to 50% flex fuel fleets in the next few years. and youtube videos show converting your car to flex fuel can be as easy as child's play. but you may not need to convert your car. according to industry insiders there are 10 million flex fuel cars already on the road and many drivers are unaware they are in one. and that list of flex fuel cars includes more than 100 different makes and models dating all the way back to 1998. so for a lis

facility in florida, and work on advanced biofuels molecule with dupont. we have our solar business, which has been in operation over 35 years. bp supports a comprehensive energy policy that includes all forms of energy, inclung oil, natural gas, coal, nuclear, biofuels, wind, and solar, and encourages conservation. even with major improvements in energy efficiency, and the rapid growth of biofuels 20 years from now, the united states will still depend on oil, natural gas, and coal to meet more than three-quarters of its energy needs. on the supply side, we support properly scaled transitional incentives for alternative energy, but raising taxes on one form of energy to encourage production of another will reduce industry's ability to keep up the growing u.s. energy demand. the result could be less investment, less production, a tighter ergy markets, and over time, at higher prices for consumers. instead, our nation should be encouraging production of all forms of energy. on the demand side, energy policies should encourage conservation and helped drive en

yes, gas lin prices are hurting people and that's why we need to invest in solar and windmill and biofuels and then attacks exxon and say the profits are too high and invest that money in alternative fuelings. everyone agrees that alternative fuels are only economically viable if the price of energy is high as it is now for the gasoline. >> they want higher price to make it competitive. >> not only want the carbon tax. but they have to have higher prices . higher energy prices absolutely kill presidencies. that is proven. >> steve, let me ask you about the question of oil subsidy. >> the four billion in oil subsidy and tax breaks. does he have a point. why should exxon get a tax break? >> first of all i want to add something about the incorherence . policy. don't forget same time the obama administration is decrying the high oil or gas, he wants to tax higher. if you put a tax on something the price goes up and not down. >> that is a tax subidy point. >> are you going to take that. why should exxon get tax breaks. >> they are not. there are some tax breaks that the oil and gas company get

so how far away are we from filling up with a tank of algae biofuel?and i driving up, we are probably ten years away. >> reporter: is it worth the wait? well many scientists say we don't have much of a choice. as the world's population explodes, so does our need for oil. and some would say drill, baby, drill. >> drill, baby, drill all you want, you know, all that does is pull it out of the ground quicker. it doesn't change how much we have there and we are done in a hundred years at our present rate of use. and we are accelerating that rate. >> reporter: algae can produce 5,000 gallons of fuel per acre in a year. it grows fast and only needs a lot of sunlight and very little water. so one of the best places to grow algae is the desert like this algae research farm in the imperial valley. cheap land that doesn't compete with food production and grows much faster than corn, which is used to make ethanol. but critics argue algae generated oil is too costly. some estimate the current price of production during research is about $25 a gallon, but mayfield s

the world bank in 2008 stated that biofuels were large contributor to rising food prices. and you know what? taboo two years later they release add more thorough analysis in 2010 that essentially dismissed the idea. so i want to quote from the world bank report. quote -- "the effect of biofuels on food prices has not been as large as originally thought and that," continuing to quote, "the use of commodities by financial investors may have been partly responsible for the 2007-2008 spike." end of quote. so, for mr. pope, i hope, you'll put that in his pipe and smoke it because he's wrong about the amount of corn and the price of corn and the impact on food prices and the world bank dismisses that as well. we even have the united kingdom -- i like to say great britain instead of united kingdom -- but their department for environment food and rural affairs concluded in 2010 that -- quote -- "available evidence suggests that biofuels had a relatively small contribution to the 2008 spike in agricultural commodity prices. in 2009, the congressional budget office evaluated the inc

at chevron, we're investing millions in solar and biofuel technology to make it work. >> we've got to get on this now. >> right now. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ moving our economy for 160 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us. pacific life-- the power to help you succeed. and the william and flora hewlett foundation, working to solve social and environmental problems at home and around the world. and with the ongoing support of these institutions and foundations. and... this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> ifill: a new report out today shows the state of the housing market has grown even more bleak. the new figures from standard and poor's found home prices have continued to drop for more than two consecutive quarters. homes lost value in all but one of the 20 major markets tracked by the case-shiller index during the first three months of this year. compared to a year ago, prices are down 7% or more in several cities. and in atlanta, cleveland, detroit, and las vegas, prices are heade

we had reasonable success at getting biofuels more in use and displacing some of the oil. for the first time in a long time, we are seeing a reduction in the amount of oil that we have to import and a reduction in the amount of oil we have been using. we're moving in the right direction. i think it is possible that congress can do some more things in this session of congress to move this even further. >> one issue that has been very controversial for many years is drilling. how do drop -- where do girl and how much do drill? republicans -- where do you drill and how much to drill? republican certainly keep talking about this. you were one of 44 senators in 2005 who filibustered opening up drilling in environmental reserves. do you still think that was the right decision? do you think, in this and vermin now with $4 per gallon gasoline, that you and other democrats might reconsider some of those decisions? >> no, i think it was the right position. that is still my position. people need to realize that, for the first time in the 30 years i have been around the senate, we are

we have had reasonable success at getting biofuel more in use and displacing some of the oil. for the first time in a long time, we are in fact seeing a reduction in the amount of oil we have to import and a reduction in the amount of oil we have been using. we are moving in the right direction and i think it's possible congress could do things in this session to move us even further in that direction. >> one of the things that has been controversial is where do you drill and how much do you drill. this is an area where republicans are beating up democrats and certainly, one senator keeps talking about drilling in deep arctic wildlife refuge. you are one of the senators who filibustered opening that up for drilling and that could have potentially yield of a million barrels of oil per day. do you still think that was the right decision and in this environment now, you and other democrats might reconsider some of those decisions? >> i think it was the right decision. that's my decision. people need to realize that for the first time in 30 years i've been around the senate, we ar

whether it is biofuels or what. your general advice to us, does that mean that maybe we should lower the rate and also cut back? by definition we have to. this is hard to do. >> i would support all of that. i think everything for everybody everywhere has to be on the table. we will repeal a for everybody across the board. the city will broaden the tax base. i only use 199. there is a whole host of elements to our tax code that is very complex. simplifying the tax -- sen use it. some do not. we are creating this. we have to make it more attractive for people to invest and create revenues. >> you go along with them. your scaling back. -- you are scaling back. >> it needs an overhaul. i tend to live by making the united states more attractive. do not harm american competitiveness overseas. it brings wealth back to this country. it keeps the playing field level. we love to compete. we thrive on competition. >> you want to maket simpler? make in a way that is consistent for everyone? there is certainty that we do not ant

i sure like it biofuels and r other sources of reliable energy that americans can put to good our use. ergy our energy. a conservation is a very important fact. should play a very important our natnal role. america needs an inner-city policy that strengthens our t national security, fosters economic growth, protects the environment in a reasonable and cost effect manner. the affordable, domestic energy. regrettably the senate majorityf plan does not seem to be interested in that kind ofpril energy policy. g any early this year get to, lt just last month the unitedorted states imported 344 million barrels of oil from foreign news.3440% of 344 million euros. that is over 60% of the oil can america. and inthat america. that means we spentlone $42.5 trillion overseas in april o alone to purchase the oil that we import. stated differently last month alone the united states spent $980,00 over $980,000 per minute on oil from foreign sources or that's almost a million dollars a minute. this presents a significant risk to our national security as as ma folks have told us in many if dollars are

from nuclear to energy to solar to wind to biofuels. if we are in agreement with brazil to do offshore deep-water drilling off the coast of brazil, we need to restart it here in the united states safely and securely. as it relates to the expanded lease sales, the question has to be whether states are prepared for that offshore drilling and whether or not we have secured the kind of technology that will allow us to do it safely and securely. energy companies have organized something called a containment group to develop that new technology. what i would say is this should not be captured in special interests where we try to get you politics of the department of the interior or get you politics by president obama. this is time to bet the politics ready by the american people, bring down gasoline prices, invest in energy which includes deep-water drilling in oil and gas and let's get going on helping the american people. i yield back the balance of my time and ask for a reasoned discussion on this important issue. the speaker pro tempore:

energyr feed with an engerg sector that has expanded its need for biofuels.stem is heavily dependent on fossil fuels and other forms of diminishing capital. most forms of industrialized agriculture have a dependency on oil, on natural gas and other non-renewable resources. one study i read estimates that a person today is consuming one u.s. gallon of diesel every day if they are on a typical western diet. in the past decade, the cost of artificial nitrogen fertilizers has gone up four fold and the cost of a potash three times. you can see how costly the future will become if we do not reduced our dependency. that is not counting the impact of higher fuel prices or the other costs of production like processing, all of which are passed on to the consumer. it is a vicious circle. add the supply of land into the equation. where do we grow all of the extra plants or graxe the extra -- graze the extra stock? 1 acre is lost to development every minute of every day. since 1982, an area the size of indiana has been built over. that is small compared to what is happeni

that means investing in clean alternative sources of energy like advanced biofuels and natural gas. and that means making cars and trucks and buses that use less oil. other countries know this. and they're going all in to invest in clean energy technologies and clean energy jobs. i don't want other countries to win the competition for these technologies and these jobs. i want america to win that competition. i want america to win the future. now, i know that in a tough fiscal climate like the one we're in, it's tempting forsome to try and cut back on our investments in clean energy. and i absolutely agree that the only way we'll be able to afford the things we need is by cutting the things we don't. and living within our means. but i refuse to cut investments like clean energy that will help us out innovate and out compete the rest of the world and i refuse to cut investments that makes it possible for plants like this one to grow and add jobs across america. we can do this. i don't just believe that because i see it happening in plants like this. i believe that because i believe in

at chevron, we're investing millions in solar and biofuel technology to make it work. >> we've got to get on this now. >> right now. and the william and flora hewlett foundation, working to solve social and environmental problems at home and around the world. and with the ongoing support of these institutions and foundations. and... this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. captioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

at chevron, we're investing millions in solar and biofuel technology to make it work. >> we've got to get on this now. >> right now. and the william and flora hewlett foundation, working to solve social and environmental problems at home and around the world. and with the ongoing support of these institutions and foundations. and... this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. captioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org america." funding for this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation. and union bank. >> union bank has put its financial strength to work for a wide range of companies, from small businesses to major corporations. what can we do for you? >> and now, "bbc world news america." america."

facility in florida, and work on advanced biofuels molecule with dupont. we have our solar business, which has been in operation over 35 years. bp supports a comprehensive energy policy that includes all forms of energy, including oil, natural gas, coal, nuclear, biofuels, wind, and solar, and encourages conservation. even with major improvements in energy efficiency, and the rapid growth of biofuels 20 years from now, the united states will still depend on oil, natural gas, and coal to meet more than three-quarters of its energy needs. on the supply side, we support properly scaled transitional incentives for alternative energy, but raising taxes on one form of energy to encourage production of another will reduce industry's ability to keep up the growing u.s. energy demand. the result could be less investment, less production, a tighter energy markets, and over time, at higher prices for consumers. instead, our nation should be encouraging production of all forms of energy. on the demand side, energy policies should encourage conservation and helped driv