Ethanol;_Is_It_Worth_the_Cost_as_Renewable_Fuel_

Ethanol; is it worth the cost as renewable fuel' Over the last couple of decades the biofuel known as ethanol (corn-based ethanol) has grown into a political issue in the United States and other developed nations, Brazil for example. Many believe it can be a replacement for gasoline that will prevent the world from global warming, or freezing, or whatever the current fate has been thrown into main stream media outlets. Others see it as an alternative for when the gasoline supply runs out, which is unavoidable and other replacement fuels must be found. Ethanol or ethyl alcohol is a fuel made from organic materials such as corn, switchgrass, sugar cane, grains, and forestry waste materials. Ethanol is blended with gasoline at different percentages. E10 (which contains 10% ethanol) is gasoline for conventional cars, whereas, E85 (which contains 85% ethanol) cannot be used in conventional cars. Vehicles must be specifically designed to accept E85; this type of vehicle is called flex fuel vehicles also known as (FFVs). Ethanol can be produced from just about any crop and/or plant that produce large quantities of sugar or sugar components. An example of this would be starch. Corn contains starch which is why corn has been mainly used to create ethanol. About one-quarter of all corn grown in the United States is now used to produce ethanol. (13.1 billion bushels harvested, 3 Billions used to produce ethanol) In a little more than 10 years the use of ethanol as fuel has risen sevenfold. Production of ethanol rose by 34 percent between the years of 2006-2007 and 42 percent during 2007-2008. In 2009, ethanol has only reduced gasoline consumption by 4 percent and greenhouse gases by less than 1 percent. Looking at the potential efficiency of ethanol, ethanol falls short in every test, no matter which way the efficiency is measured, ethanol finishes behind oil. With many different ways to measure a fuel’s efficiency, different scientists generate different statistical representations for the efficiency of fuel. In the United States, it is widely accepted that ethanol is more efficient than oil. Ethanol produces about twenty-four Megajoules per liter. Regular gasoline on the other hand produces approximately thirty-five Megajoules per liter. In order to understand the possibilities of ethanol production and its effects on food production and the environment, it is useful to know the relationship between ethanol and land use. In order to increase corn (and thereby ethanol) production, many acres of soybean production have been displaced. Food prices since 2000 have risen sharply, compared to prior years where ethanol production was not as high. Since world demand for corn to produce ethanol has increased drastically since 2000, it is estimated that food prices have risen 35 percent. The price per a bushel of corn in April 2007 went from $3.39 per a bushel to $5.14 per a bushel. In turn this has affected federal spending on food programs and household budgets. It’s estimated that food prices have risen 10 to 15 percent between April 2007 and April 2008, and will rise federal spending on child food programs by $600 million to $900 million. After the arguments on whether ethanol is good for the planet, or whether it has the necessary energy to fuel our current world, there still remains the question of whether the more subtle effects on humans are worth it. Since ethanol is extracted from plants that could have been eaten, or could be processed to be eaten, the overall food supply of the world is decreased by ethanol production. When comparing gasoline and ethanol in developed countries like the United States, many people are not aware of the competition between ethanol and food, because they buy food from different grocery stores without comparing price increases. As for people who are living in undeveloped countries they would notice a more drastic effect, such as buying food and then suddenly having none. Such a dramatic effect that some here in the United States may not notice, but that in third world countries, may starve.