Ethanol Bio fuels Pros and Cons

Dear EarthTalk: What are the environmental pros and cons of switching to plant-based bio fuels to reduce our reliance on oil?
-Jim Dand, Somerville, MA

There are many environmental benefits to replacing oil with bio fuel like ethanol and bio diesel. For one, since such fuels are derived from agricultural crops, they are inherently renewable--and our own farmers typically produce them domestically, reducing our dependence on unstable foreign sources of oil. Additionally, ethanol and bio diesel fuel emit less particulate pollution than traditional petroleum-based gasoline and diesel fuel. They also do not contribute to global warming, since they only emit back to the environment the carbon dioxide (CO2) that their source plants absorbed out of the atmosphere in the first place.

bio fuel are Easy to Use, but Not Always Easy to Find
And unlike other forms of renewable energy (like hydrogen, solar or wind), bio fuel are easy for people and businesses to transition to without special apparatus or a change in vehicle or home heating infrastructure-you can just fill your existing car, truck or home oil tank with it. Those looking to replace gasoline with ethanol in their car, however, must have a flex-fuel model that can run on either fuel. Otherwise, most regular diesel engines can handle bio diesel as readily as regular diesel.

Despite the upsides, however, experts point out that bio fuel are far from a cure for our addiction to petroleum. A wholesale societal change from gasoline to bio fuel, given the number of gas-only cars already on the road and the lack of ethanol or bio diesel pumps at existing filling stations, would take some time.

Are There Enough Farms and Crops to Support a change to bio fuel?
Another major hurdle for widespread adoption of bio fuel is the challenge of growing enough crops to meet demand, something skeptics say might well require changeing just about all of the world's remaining forests and open spaces over to agricultural land.

change only five percent of the nation's diesel consumption with bio diesel would require diverting approximately 60 percent of today's soy crops to bio diesel production, says Matthew Brown, an energy consultant and former energy program director at the National Conference of State Legislatures. That's bad news for tofu lovers.

Does Producing bio fuel Use More Energy than They Can Generate?
Another dark cloud looming over ethanol bio fuel is whether producing them actually requires more energy than they can generate. After factoring in the energy needed to grow crops and then change them into bio fuel, Cornell University researcher David Pimental concludes that the numbers just don't add up. His 2005 study found that producing ethanol from corn required 29 percent more energy than the end product itself is capable of generating. He found similarly troubling numbers in making bio diesel from soybeans.

There is just no energy benefit to using plant biomass for liquid fuel, Pimentel says.

Conservation is a Key Strategy for Reducing Dependence on Fossil fuel
There is no one quick-fix for weaning ourselves off of fossil fuel and the future will likely see a combination of sources--from wind and ocean currents to hydrogen, solar and, yes, some use of bio fuel--powering our energy needs. The elephant in the living room that is often ignored when considering energy options, however, is the hard reality that we must reduce our consumption, not just replace it with something else. Indeed, conservation is probably the largest single alternative fuel available to us.

More Coalitions That Promote bio fuel Fuel Use!

find e85 pump and station location American Heart and Lung Association

find e85 pump and station location American Coalition for Ethanol

find e85 pump and station location E85 prices.com/ e85 pump station location and prices.

australia e85 flex fuel conversion kits Australian Dealer.

international flex fuel in thailand Thailand E85 pump.

national ethanol vehicle coalition

e85 conversion flex fuel Text here