Several pro-ethanol groups yesterday announced the start of a campaign aimed at highlighting the positive impacts of biofuels on communities and the economy as part of an effort to defend the Renewable Fuel Standard.

The “Fuels America” coalition brings together groups to tout the RFS as critical to building a domestic biofuels industry.  To see members of the coalition, click here.

“Our ultimate goal is to make sure that every member of Congress, every critical person in this administration and whichever administration takes over next year, as well as governors and other policymakers at the state level, understand … that the renewable fuel standard is critical to America’s leadership, and any thought of undoing it would do long and lasting and essentially unnecessary harm,” said Jim Greenwood, president and CEO of the Biotechnology Industry Organization as part of a press conference on Thursday.

The campaign will begin with advertising in Washington, D.C., and in Colorado, Ohio, Delaware and Montana–states the coalition said have been successful in building up the biofuels industry.

It was revealed earlier this week that for this effort the coalition had retained The Glover Park Group, a D.C. consulting and lobbying firm, that in 2008 was retained by several food manufacturing and animal agriculture groups to run an anti-ethanol campaign.