Ethanol: A Sustainable Fuel

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Recommended: Impact of fossil fuels on the environment

Sustainability refers to something that is used and can be replenished in time to use it again. The United States is known for being innovative and moving forward in its development. What keeps the United States mobile and moving? We use fuel, more specifically gasoline. The United states has become more aware of the environment and have found out that gasoline is a precious resource and is not unlimited. Many people fear changing fuel, because they have gotten used to gasoline. One way for the United States to become more sustainable is to fix its fuel source problem. Oil is used in everything from cars, airplanes, boats and machines of various types. Gasoline is not sustainable. There is a limited amount of oil or natural gas in the world, and it takes such a long time for natural gas or oil to form in nature. One alternative to gasoline is ethanol. Ethanol is a biofuel made from corn. Currently, there are several gas stations that provide gas with some ethanol, usually about ten or fifteen percent. “A blend of 10% ethanol and 90% gasoline, or E10, is approved for use in every vehicle sold in the U.S.; about one-third of America’s gasoline contains some ethanol.” (Energy Future Coalition 25-26). Although many are reluctant to change from gasoline to a more sustainable fuel, such as ethanol, changing would decrease our dependence on other countries for obtaining oil, it would have two fiscally advantages, and it would help the environment.
One of the reasons why gasoline use in the United States is not sustainable is because currently we are dependent on other countries for nearly half of the oil we use. About forty percent of our oil and gas is imported from outside the United States. Even though right now we are capable of sup...

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...ll be able to handle the corrosiveness of ethanol and engine damage will not occur. The volatile problem in cold weather can be easily fixed by adding a small amount of gasoline to the mixture. For the United States to be more sustainable as a country, we need to have a sustainable fuel source so that we can keep moving

Works Cited
“How much did the US spend on imported oil in 2012?” Green Lifestyle Changes, 2013.
Web. 29 April 2014.
“Ethanol Facts: Environment.” Renewable Fuels Association.
2014. Web. 29 April 2014.
“How much natural gas does the United States have and how long will it last?”
Independent Statistics & Analyis U.S. Energy Information Administration. 2012.
Web. 29 April 2014
Ed Wallace. “The Great Ethanol Scam.” Bloomberg Businessweek. 2009. Web. May 5,
2014
“The Facts About Biofuels: Ethanol.” Energy Future Coalition. 2007. Web. May 6, 2014

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