Should corn ethanol be used for fuel?
Alternative energy is the world’s race as of now. As the space race concluded and the nuclear arms race died down, alternative energy became the race of the ages. In today’s society, with today’s technology there are all sorts of forms of alternative energies. These energies include hydro power, geothermal, biomass, nuclear power, and so much more. With all of these variations of alternative energy the question now becomes, which form is the best to use? Are any of them safe? Which ones would effectively solve the world’s depleting energy crisis? Of course, the country that is able to produce clean efficient energy; that country would become the new world power virtually overnight. With today’s technology, should we resort to food/corn as our primary source of energy?
Given the amount of resources that the world as a whole has access to why use corn as a source of fuel? Some would say that countries, such as the United States have an overabundance of food produce. Logically, those countries that have an over surplus of food MUST have enough to put a dent into the rapidly increasing costs of oil and gasoline. Unfortunately, that is a misconception. In order to produce enough corn to fuel the global economy it is important to analyze what that actually means for farmers and the government, not to mention the actual food supply. In order to produce corn ethanol, we must first grow an abundance of corn. Simple right? Wrong, corn is very draining on the soil it is grown, which, in short, means that whomever is growing the corn would have to rotate the corn plantation with something that will restore the nutrients of the soil. Unfortunately, that takes both time and money to do. The task would cal...
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...ill become the world leader undoubtedly.
Works Cited
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In the first third of the book, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, by Michael Pollan, he draws the reader in by bringing to light many interesting facts about corn that most individuals may not realize. He states that the majority of food that people consume contains corn. Although people of Mexican descent are usually referred to as the “corn people”, Americans have now surpassed them in the amount of corn consumed in their daily diet. Corn is consumed in a variety of forms and many of the animals that are eaten by Americans, such as the chicken, pig, turkey, and lamb are fed corn. When a person eats these animals, he or she is essentially increasing their corn intake, and in most cases without even realizing it. The corn crop has spread vastly and is massively produced because it is efficient. Unlike other crop plants, corn can survive in harsh weather conditions and it is light and easy to transport. Maize is also self-fertilized and pollinated by wind, and it has evolved over time and continues to evolve, into new forms and new uses.
In conclusion, Corn Ethanol Biofuel has many negative and positive effects. It has a negative effect because it releases greenhouse gases but positive effects as well because it is inexpensive to produce and use, and is a renewable source. The future of corn ethanol is uncertain: “Corn-based ethanol will most likely not be the staple fuel source in the future, as it is only a short term solution and poses problems in the long run. Ethanol contains 33% less energy than gasoline, and corrodes engines that it is used in. Average production and final sales are 62 cents/gal higher than conventional gasoline. Even though political support is waning, Congress will most likely not abandon corn ethanol.” ("Future of Corn Ethanol.) I think corn ethanol
With the fuel crisis that is happening in the world today it is now more important than ever to begin the look towards alternative fuel sources. One smart step for the US would be to wean the country slowly off of the gasoline fix and to look into alternative fuels to replace the “never coming back” fossil fuels. It turns out that Ethanol as a hybrid fuel proves to be a notable candidate for this gasoline intervention, per say. Now the United States is currently looking to subsidize fossil fuel alternatives. However, before considering ethanol production as a governmental subsidy, using large amounts of hard earned tax payer money, there has to be many alternative factors that come into play such as making sure the pros out weight the cons as far as environmental benefits and performance output and not to mention looking at the entire matter from an economic or investment perspective. First we need to consider what the ethanol we are talking about actually is and how can we obtain it.
Cellulosic ethanol will not be able to meet its mandated output because in the past four years since demonstration and pilot sites started popping up it has only just started t...
Ethanol production was developed in hopes of severing our ties with fossil fuels in favor of alternative energy, such as biofuels. Although, VOCs emissions are released during production of ethanol in a factory, the quality of air is greatly improved when burning ethanol versus fossil fuels. Burning ethanol instead of fossil fuels reduces the amount of cancer-causing greenhouse gases that go into the atmosphere. Ethanol production ranks at the bottom of industrial water usage, but is still not out of the woods with the abundance of water usage needed in corn feedstock and ethanol manufacturing and processing facilities. Many acres of land are needed to grow corn crops, however, many corn farmers are successful in growing more corn on less acreage.
According to a report by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), using food grains to produce biofuels is already causing food shortages for the poor of the world (Pimentel, et al., 2009, 1). Some of the crops used for both food and biofuel production are corn, sugarcane, barley, soybean, wheat, rapeseed, and sunflower. Nearly 60% of humans in the world are currently malnourished (Pimentel, et al., 2009, 1). This will increase if grains previously used for food are instead used for biofuel production. Because of this, the use o...
A surprising fact is that most of the corn we produce in the United States is not actually eaten. In 2008 the United States produced a total of 12.1 million bushels of maize. Of that 5.2 million was used as livestock feed, 3.6 million for ethanol production, 1.8 million for exporting, .9 million for production of starch, sweeteners, high fructose corn syrup, and oils, and finally .3 million for human consumption in grits, flour, alcohol, etc.
The future of the United States solar energy industry will be shaped not only by economic growth, but also by the rate of declining oil resources and the global realization of the consequences of human induced climate change. Political responses to this realization in the United States include; new policies, legislature, and tax incentives to both businesses and private households to promote growth and investment in the solar power industry.
Smil, Vaclav. "The Long Slow Rise of Solar and Wind." Scientific American 310.1 (2014): 52. MasterFILE Complete. Web. 30 Mar. 2014.
Hamer, Glenn. "Solar Power Can Help Fuel the Future." Energy Alternatives (2006). Print. 19 November 2014.
Wolfe, Michael. "Pros & Cons of Solar Thermal Energy." EHow. Demand Media, 06 July 2010. Web. 04 Mar. 2014. .
Solar is a viable alternative energy source with solar panels becoming more affordable and more efficiently designed.
I am certain that all have heard of the terms greenhouse gases, fossil fuels, and global warming. Have you ever questioned what will happen if nothing is done about the environmental problems facing the world today? What if I answer you that, we can merely use the power from the sun to power up our entire planet without the use of harmful energy sources, which affect our atmosphere? The power from the sun is what we call solar power. Solar power is the energy that comes from the sun as light and heat energy, and then it is later converted into electrical energy through solar panels (Nelson, 2008).
Delucchi, Mark A., and Mark Z. Jacobson. "Meeting the World's Energy Needs with Wind, Water, and Solar Power." Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (2013): 31-40. Web.
Using fossil fuels such as coal and oil is inefficient, dangerous, and otherwise a process that is known to eventually fail as a long lasting energy source. Yet, there is hope for the future of energy, this new hope has many shapes and forms, but requires a chance to be fully implemented in our everyday life. Such energy sources like solar energy, wind energy, geothermal energy, and hydro power are the key to our future. These energy sources are proven to be long lasting, safe, more reliable, and the next innovation. In short, all Americans should switch to renewable energy, resulting in a safer and more efficient world.