April 7, 2017
By Rachel Gantz
This morning, the American Petroleum Institute will issue yet another push poll, claiming that a majority of Americans oppose the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). But repeating the same tired, skewed results doesn’t make it true.
If past is prologue, API will have framed its RFS polling questions to be biased against the biofuels program. Take API’s April 2016 polling results. Here’s API’s first misleading question:
“As you may know, much of the gasoline in the U.S. market currently contains up to a 10% ethanol blend. Most auto manufacturers have said they will not cover vehicle damage caused by higher ethanol fuel blends over 10% if the vehicle is not specifically designed for it. Given that situation, how concerned are you about government requirements that would increase the amount of ethanol in gasoline?”
What’s the truth? The RFS does not require consumers to purchase increasing—or any—biofuels in their fuel, while ethanol blends of up to 15% are approved for approximately 90% of the vehicles on U.S. roads today.
Think API’s new push poll will be any different? Neither do we.
Here’s the truth. Nearly sixty percent of those polled in a recent national survey support the RFS.
The survey, conducted in late March by Morning Consult on behalf of the Renewable Fuels Association, found that 58% of those polled support the RFS, with only 17% of those polled opposed to the RFS. That’s a more than 3:1 margin of support for the RFS.
“Consumers all across our country are seeing the benefits of the RFS, whether it’s cleaner air, a reduction in our dependence on petroleum or a boost to local economies,” said RFA President and CEO Bob Dinneen. “The RFS has been an unmitigated success, stimulating growth in domestic renewable fuels, creating a value-added market for farmers and providing choice at the pump for consumers.”
“It’s no wonder that API, which represents petroleum producers, wants to obfuscate the success of a program that boosts the production and use of renewable fuel. Consumers want a choice at the pump and the RFS helps ensure that choice exists. API can release all the push polls it wants, but the truth speaks for itself,” Dinneen added.
Read the original release: API Push Poll Doesn’t Reflect Reality