EPA sued over biofuels

WASHINGTON, May 2 (UPI) -- The National Wildlife Federation announced it was suing the EPA for failing to protect grasslands from farmers wanting to plant biofuel stocks.

The NWF said it blamed the Environmental Protection Agency for failing to enforce laws that would protect sensitive ecosystems, adding some farmers are being encouraged to replace grasslands with corn to be used in the production of biofuels.

"We think that trying to take the last 5 percent of our native grasslands, which are the most endangered ecosystem in the United States, it's like burning the Mona Lisa for firewood," said Julie Sibbing, director of agriculture at the NWF, in a statement.

The International Energy Agency said in a road map for a clean energy future that biofuels could grow from 2 percent of the total transport fuel mix currently to 27 percent by 2050.

The agency warned, however, that for this to happen, fossil fuels used to convert organic matter to fuel must decline. Also, developers must produce biofuels in such a way that food supplies aren't negatively affected and forests aren't converted to grow fuel stocks.