In his State of the Union address, United States President George W. Bush has set the goal for greater use of renewable fuels as part of his “Advanced Energy Intitiative” to replace more than 70% of its Middle East oil imports by 2025. The need for quicker development of cost effective technologies for the production of fuel ethanol from cellulosic materials (i.e. plant fibers such as switch grass) was highlighted. Experts believe that in order to accomplish the set energy goals, “cellulosic ethanol” would be the recommended option for the future. Among its mentioned advantages over “corn ethanol” are: lesser agricultural and energy inputs for production, non-competition with food crops and lesser greenhouse emissions. According to Mr. Bob Dineen, President of the U.S. Renewable Fuels Association, the call for accelerated research and development in cellulosic ethanol “will stimulate new investments in ethanol technologies”. Mr. William Baum, excecutive vice-president of Diversa (an enzyme production company) mentions that the original 5 to 6 years timetable for cellulosic ethanol technology development may be cut to 3 years..