First off, we are relieved and happy today that the Deepwater Horizon oil well has been capped successfully by BP. While the circumstances leading up to and after the disaster were lamentable, environmentalists and people on the Gulf Coast can now all breathe just a little easier, even if much more analysis and reevalution of deepwater oil drilling has to be done before the world can put this issue to bed.

Moving on, the EPA has called for 800 Million gallons of commerical use US diesel to be comprised of biodiesel by next year. Biodiesel reduces greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 86% when compared with petroleum diesel. The regulations exist under the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) which was put in place with the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007.

The National Biodiesel Board and other environmental groups are applauding the requirements. “This notice demonstrates to all actors in the fuels marketplace that the volume goals for Biomass-based Diesel provided for by law in the RFS2 program will be met and that 800 million gallons of biodiesel must be used in 2011,” stated Manning Feraci, the vice-president in charge of Federal Affairs for the US Biodiesel Board.