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Biofuels Today
Zach Fletcher
The United States has been using oil for centuries for transportation, construction, manufacturing, and more. In the past few decades this has turned into a huge oil dependence; it is now a reliance that has many political, economic, and environmental consequences. Because the Middle East has historically provided much of this oil, the US is trying to curb its reliance on such imports in view of recent political tensions. Reducing these imports establishes a greater sense of political security and provides greater economic independence and opportunities for the US. Alongside all these concerns is the phenomenon of global warming. Scientists agree that because of the rising carbon dioxide emissions, a significant portion of which come from burning fossil fuels, or oil, the temperature of the Earth as a whole is rising. This change leads to all sorts of devastating environmental effects including droughts, floods, rising ocean levels, and disrupted air and water currents.
To combat all of these issues, biofuels has come to the forefront as a solution. Using biofuels, which is ethanol distilled from organic matter, as an alternative to fossil fuels is one option to provide a clean burning fuel to fulfill the country's energy needs. Growing the necessary organic matter inside the country would provide a degree of independence from foreign oil companies, alleviating both the political and economic dependence. The growth and sale of organic matter for use in production of biofuels has increased tremendously in the past few years, and venture capital investment in biofuels has in the past three years increased eight hundred percent. The intense popularity of this product stems from the fact that it is seen as a potentially effective way to combat the ill effects of burning fossil fuels.
In order to produce biofuels, plant matter must be grown and harvested. In theory, it can be any type of plant, and scientists are currently working on a way to use fast growing and easily taken care of grasses, such as switchgrass. At this time in the United States, however, corn is the major projected source of raw plant matter. In order to make ethanol, the corn must be broken down, either physically or with enzymes, into simple sugars. These can now be converted by yeast or bacteria into a mix of ethanol and water. The final step in the process is distillation, where the ethanol is refined and purified. Even though carbon dioxide is release when the corn is fermented and the ethanol is combusted, this carbon release is made up for by the carbon absorbed from the atmosphere by the plant while it is growing. Because of this and the fact that it burns without releasing particulates it is considered a clean fuel.
Although bio-ethanol is a clean burning fuel its production does take a toll on the environment. In order to produce a certain amount of sugar for transformation into ethanol it takes almost as much energy input, usually in the form of fossil fuels. There is less than a thirty percent return on the energy used in corn production for ethanol; growing corn for biofuels results in less than thirty percent more energy than the original imputed amount of energy. Looked at objectively, although the margin is small, if the cost is affordable it is worth the effort to undergo this process. The problem lies when companies only look at the monetary costs of strictly purchasing and transforming corn. The environmental costs of converting farmland to purely corn monocultures are inherently high. Supporting a monoculture, especially of corn, requires huge amounts of fertilizer, water, herbicides, fungicides, and insecticides, all of which create ill effects on the surrounding ecosystems and those downstream. Continuing to maintain or add to the acres of corn will only exacerbate these problems. Such practices decrease the soil fertility, which eventually leads to permanently decreased yields unless corrective action is taken. Additionally, the increased enthusiasm for biofuel production has led to deforestation and the consequent loss of biodiversity.
In terms of fuel efficiency, ethanol is not comparable to gasoline - it takes one and a half gallons of ethanol to equal the energy of one gallon of gasoline. Because of this inefficiency, along with the sheer amount of organic matter it takes to create ethanol, converting all the farmland currently producing corn, seventy million acres, to producing corn strictly for biofuels would only end up providing less than five percent of the country's energy needs.
Aside from being an economically inefficient use of the farmland, converting any substantial amount of farmland in the United States to land for biofuels would be socially detrimental. Diverting farmland used for food to produce ethanol for cars would vastly decrease the amount of land available to grow food, and therefore decrease the amount of surplus food available to help those starving in developing nations and, indeed, those hungry in this country. Due to the new use of corn, farmers will be able to sell their crops for a much higher price. While this is beneficial to them in the short run it negatively affects many more people. Since corn grown for biofuels is the same as corn grown for manufacturing many food products and for corn meal, the price rises for each. The ramifications of this have been felt very recently and are still felt; the price of corn tortillas in Mexico has drastically increased. This rise has a huge and devastating impact on the very poor to lower middle class citizens since they rely heavily on tortillas made from corn for their sustenance. This controversy has resulted in what is called the "food-vs-fuel debate".
When weighing the pros and cons of converting corn to ethanol for use as a fuel it is important to keep in mind these social impacts in addition to the economic benefits and costs. In view of the political and economic situation surrounding oil the United States innovation such as corn ethanol is necessary, yet innovation in this field must continue if it is to be profitable and morally acceptable. Brazil, for instance, has millions of acres of sugar cane devoted to the production of ethanol, a sugar source that yields about eight times more energy than corn. It is necessary to maintain a level of environmental integrity associated with whatever new technologies develop. Developing biofuels was a way to take this environmental concern into account, but in order to be really environmentally friendly more research needs to be supported before this type of corn conversion takes over production. It is vital to keep a broad view of this whole situation; whatever path is chosen now will lead to the results that the next generations will have to feel and deal with.
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Biofuels, Greenhouse Threat?
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Almost all biofuels used today cause more greenhouse gas emissions than conventional fuels if the full emissions costs of producing these "green" fuels are taken into account, two studies being published Thursday have concluded.
- New York Times
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