Addicted to oil

Re “California’s looming blunder on biofuels,” Opinion, April 16

The Low Carbon Fuel Standard soon to be adopted by California’s Air Resources Board will help kick the state’s petroleum habit, contrary to Gal Luft’s view.

CARB’s first-in-the-world low carbon standard will promote the development of cleaner alternatives to petroleum by sending clear signals to investors to reduce the carbon content of transportation fuels used in California. The standard requires all providers to reduce the carbon content of their fuels by 10% by 2020, considering “cradle to grave” emissions.

The inclusion of greenhouse gas emissions from land conversion, such as clearing rain forests, is a critical element. Without accurate accounting of these indirect land use effects, the standard could result in fuels with more, rather than less, greenhouse gas emissions than gasoline. This would be contrary to the state’s effort to combat global warming under the Global Warming Solutions Act.

Bonnie Holmes-Gen

Sacramento

The writer is senior policy director for the American Lung Assn. in California.