Biofuel

BERKELEY, Calif. -- One day in the not-too-distant future, we might be filling our cars with fuel made from useless grass.

A biologist at the University of California, Berkeley, has transferred a gene from a variety of corn into a widespread, fast-growing species of the grass, and transformed it into what could become an important source of biofuel.

The federal government intends to jump-start the fledgling biofuels industry in the name of national security.

The initiative, introduced Tuesday by President Obama at a rural economic forum in Iowa, commits $510 million to help finance a new generation of plants to produce advanced biofuels for Navy jets and marine craft. The effort would, in turn, boost job creation in rural America, proponents say.

ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE, Md. -- Maj. Aaron Jelinek of the Air Force Thunderbirds flies his F-16 upside down, rolls it, thunders past his teammates in breathtaking close charges and joins five other fighter jets in precision formation.

And for the first time in the 58 years of Thunderbird air shows, Jelinek's flight last month was fueled by a 50-50 blend of conventional jet fuel and biofuels.

"Flying is a blast," he said after the show at Andrews Air Force Base, outside Washington. As for the biofuels blend, he said: "There is no difference that I can tell."

Biofuels have buzz in the military because the Air Force and the Navy are taking a lead role in creating a U.S. market for them. They've spent the past few years testing and certifying aircraft to run on them. Now they need hundreds of millions of gallons of biofuels to meet the goals they've set for using alternative energy by the end of this decade.