Question

ENERGY STRATEGY

How the expanded use of biofuels,in place of fossil fuel, was thought in theory to be able to slow the buildup of greenhouses gases in the atmosphere.

Briefly describe two unexpected results that the mandated use of corn ethanol in the United States has had on the global environment and/or population.

How the coal panics in Great Britain at the end of the 1800s are similar in two ways to the oil panics of recent years,specifically just before the year 2008.

Answer 1

The contribution of different biofuels to reducing fossil-fuel consumption varies widely when the fossil energy used as an input in their production is also taken into account. The fossil energy balance of a biofuel depends on factors such as feedstock characteristics, production location, agricultural practices and the source of energy used for the conversion process. Different biofuels also perform very differently in terms of their contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Biofuels are only one component of a range of alternatives for mitigating greenhouse emissions.

In 2007, the global price of corn doubled as a result of an explosion in ethanol production in the U.S. Because corn is the most common animal feed and has many other uses in the food industry, the price of milk, cheese, eggs, meat, corn-based sweeteners and cereals increased as well. World grain reserves dwindled to less than two months, the lowest level in over 30 years. Additional unintended effects from the increase in ethanol production include the dramatic rise in land rents, the increase in natural gas and chemicals used for fertilizers, over-pumping of aquifers like the Ogallala that serve many mid-western states, clear-cutting forests to plant fuel crops, and the revival of destructive practices such as edge tillage. Edge tillage is planting right up to the edge of the field thereby removing protective bordering lands and increasing soil erosion, chemical runoff and other problems. It took us 40 years to end edge tillage in this country, and overnight ethanol brought it back with a vengeance.