"When breakthroughs come, I will be counting on Florida to lead the way."
-- U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer, discussing the state's biofuels potential
Whether derived from sugar cane, switchgrass, algae, citrus peel or woody biomass, biofuels grown in the Sunshine State can spearhead the nation's future energy policy, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer said Thursday. Schafer said alternative energy development is key to relieving our dependence on foreign oil, which he denounced as "a travesty to this country." He said biofuels can help wean the United State off of oil sold by hostile nations such as Iran and Venezuela."

Down here in Florida, the sheer variety of agriculture -- the mix of forests and citrus groves and sugarcane farms and grazing lands -- that you have here really make you a state that is a great laboratory for the future, Schafer said.