Everyone knows that gasoline is made offossil fuels. Using gasoline-powered cars creates too much carbon dioxide and pollutes the atmosphere, causing global warming.The United States, as well as most other countries around the world, are looking desperately for a solution to this monumental problem. Scientists have considered a number of possible alternatives to gasoline. One such possibility is ethanol. Ethanol is a clear, odorless type of alcohol obtained from crops such as corn, switch grass, and sugarcane. It does not pollute the atmosphereand, when added to gasoline, greatly reduces harmful emissions. There are many benefits of replacing gasoline with ethanol, but there are some downsides too. It yields much less energy than gasoline, and ethanol productionuses upfarmland that couldhave been used for growing food for people.

What is ethanol anyway?

Ethanol is a colorless, clean-burning type of alcohol that is an excellent source of energy, or so it seems. It is obtained from two sources: either crops with high sugar content such as sugar beets and sugarcane, or crops with high amounts of starch that can easily be turned into sugar. A major sourceof this type of ethanol is corn.It is formed by bacteria fermenting and then breaking down the carbohydrate sugars in crops. Ethanol is used in a wide variety of other products, such as brewing alcoholic drinks, and has been used by humans for thousands of years. Since it comes from corn, which is generally renewable, it is considered a renewable resource. An extensive process is used to convert sugars and starches to ethanol. Here is a sort of simplified version of this process: Above is a diagram showing the process of ethanol production. As the need for a renewable and environmentally friendly fuel rapidly rises, scientists are looking desperately for a solution. But there is one fuel which just might be the answer: ethanol. Ethanol seems like a dream cometrue solution for the energy crisis. But with it come huge problems that can’t be ignored.

In many ways, ethanol seems like a promising alternative to fossil fuels. It is readily available as a renewable resource, because it comes from crops like corn. It greatly reduces greenhouse gas emissions when blended with gasoline or burned alone. According to the American Coalition for Ethanol, “Ethanol is a renewable, environmentally friendly fuel that is inherently cleaner than gasoline. Ethanol reduces harmful tailpipe emissions of carbon monoxide, particulate matter, oxides of nitrogen, and other ozone-forming pollutants.” Ethanol has a whopping 35% oxygen content, making it burn more cleanly and completely than any other fuel. Also, ethanol has over 80% less gum-forming compounds. Ethanol use in the U.S. in 2004 alone decreasedcarbon dioxideand other greenhouse gas emissions by 7 million tons- which is equal to taking approximately 1 millioncars off the road. The Argonne National Lab reports that using ethanol as a motor fuel results in a 35-46% decrease in greenhouse gas emissions and 50-60 percent decrease of fossil fuel usage. “The people whoaresayingethanol is bad are just plain wrong,” says Daniel Kammen of the University of California in Berkeley.

On the other hand, there are several strong counterarguments that some ethanol supporters are choosing to ignore. Ethanol doesn’t have nearly as much energy as fossil fuels do; in fact, more energy is involved in producing ethanol than the amount that it actually yields. It takes 131,000 BTUs of fossil fuel energy to run the machinesto produce a gallon of ethanolthat onlyprovides 77,000 BTUs of energy. Soethanol production actually results ina net energy loss. Anotherproblem that most scientists agree on is farmland. Growing corn specially for ethanol production takes up farmland that could have been used for growing actual food for people. Furthermore, corn fields take a while to replenish themselves after harvesting, and during that time the ethanol plants will run out of corn to process into ethanol,and the land isn’t usable for any other crops. Also, even though ethanol reduces greenhouse gas emissions, it contains alcohol and formaldehydes, both serious pollutants.”Any benefits from ethanol production, including the corn by-products, are negated by the environmental pollution caused by ethanol production. Intensive corn production in the US causes serious soil erosion and requires the mining of groundwater resources,” state David and Marcia Pimentel, authors ofFood, Energy, and Society.

As you can see, the theories of the experts do not all agree with each other. Some think ethanol is a promising alternative and a good choice of fuel, while the others bring up strong counterarguments against ethanol usage. But ultimately, in the end the disadvantages of ethanol outnumber the advantages.Yet, scientists haven’t ruled out ethanolfrom thelist of possibilities. Why? Well, there is anothertype of ethanol called cellulosic ethanol. Itis obtained from non-food products such as corn stalks, waste wood chips,and switch grass, eliminating the issue of farmland. Maybe that is one ofthe solutions to global warming.

Clearly, as global warming takes effect on our Earth, grain-based ethanolseems like a dream come true solution to global warming, and in some ways it is. But there are many negatives to it that are too huge to ignore.

This is apolitical cartoon about ethanol production that seems interesting. The production of ethanol has many effects on the US and the world, and not all of them are good. Here is a diagram showing the effects of ethanol production:

As you might have noticed, the US does not use ethanol all that much; in fact, there is a 100% block on ethanol. But Brazil has definitely made a ton of progress. Brazil has a 0% block on ethanol, and 96% of all motor fuel used in automobiles is ethanol. Brazil does it by using sugarcane for ethanol. There is a huge amount of sugarcane in Brazil, and using it costs half as much as using imported gasoline. So why haven’t we switched to ethanol too? Well, there are big problems that accompany the benefits. But we haven’t yet ruled out ethanol as a good fuel, because in the end it is not one single solution that will end global warming; a mixture of everything will be needed. So we could use ethanol in our gasoline, and we already are. We do use someethanol, mostly a blend of 10% ethanol and 90% gasoline, or just simply called E10. Most vehicles are able to run on E10, and it only costs $100 to convert your car to run on E10. So why not get started in helping the environment?? As you probably know already, global warming is on the move. Carbon dioxide levels are skyrocketing, reaching far higher level than all of the preceding 10,000 years. Millions of species are facing the loss of their habitat due to drastic change in climate. More and more hurricanes and tornadoes are devastating towns and villages all over the world each year because of the rising temperatures. The polar icecaps and glaciers are rapidly receding and, if the Earth keeps getting warmer, will eventually disappear. The meltwater will cause the sea level to rise, flooding low-lying coastal countries like Bangladesh and India. This means that the site for the future World Trade Center towers will be underwater. The ice shelves and permafrost in Antarctica will break up and melt, adding to the rise of sea levels around the world. Cars and factories are polluting all of Earth including the atmosphere and the oceans. There is now almost no clean, pure, real air anywhere. Rising levels of smoke and smog in the air around heavily populated and/or overcrowded cities dramatically increases risk of lung cancer and other diseases of the lungs. Most of the big cities like New York City and Los Angeles will look like this:

This is what it’s like in the city of Linfen in China. If we continue to use fossil fuels and pollute the environment, this is what every big city will look like. We have to change our ways and find a way to stop global warming, or else everything will be lost. Our Earth will be ruined.