Are We Willing to Feed a Car its Veggies?

You start your day and if you want to go anywhere you go in a car most likely. What exactly makes you go forward? Gasoline is the correct answer. How about if you want to see in your house? Turn on a switch; however it is still being powered with energy. Till today we had always derived energy from non-renewables fossil fuels and never thought it could be done any other way. We had tried new energy sources like solar, wind, and hydroelectric to try to change this. However, sustainably all these different energy sources arent practical for long term energy. There is a light at the end of this dark tunnel a new energy source that may be able to replace our fossil fuel resources altogether, and in a clean eco-friendly way. Biofuel energy is a new clean energy source, that once perfected, may be the leading energy fuel. It has always been a goal of scientists ever since we started running the world on fuel. In the 19 century tests were done that proved it is possible (NY Times). Scientists have been working on it ever since. Unlike other renewable energy sources, biomass can be converted directly into liquid fuels, called biofuels, to help meet transportation fuel needs. The two most common types of biofuels in use today are ethanol and biodiesel (NREL). Ethanol is the main one scientists and the news are focusing on. This is because it makes a great substitute for gasoline and can also be mixed with gasoline to help get better results. Many people believe there are still some problems with corrosion inside the mechanics of the car. This does not mean we should give up on this alternative fuel. Did Edison invent the light bulb in one try? No it took 1400 tries to come up with a light bulb that actually worked.
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Whats not to like about biofuel? The biggest reason why we arent actively using Biofuels today is because the expense and amount of energy needed to produce and use the Biofuels efficiently. It is a very expensive process to make that happen. Its so muc h energy that there is debate about whether ethanol from corn actually provides more energy than is required to grow and process it. Also, because much of the energy used in production comes from coal and natural gas, biofuels dont replace as much oil as they use (Biofuel Facts). Grass clippings are becoming an option, but who in their right mind would pay for someone to turn the cellulose in plants into fuel for cars. Right now it costs a lot more than oil. So we keep using oil and even though prices are going up it wont be a problem because at least it is less than paying for lawn clippings to run your car right? Sounds like a great plan only what happens when we run out of oil? That is why we need to still work on improving our Biofuel resources. One day we will run out of oil and need a source no matter how expensive, unless everyone decided to start walking everywhere. Biofuel just seems to be the easiest cleanest way to deal with this inevitable problem. What exactly would biofuel do for the world? These fuels can be used for any purposes, but the main use for which they have to be brought is in the transportation sector. (What are Biofuels) Honestly what happens when the world runs out of gasoline? Do you walk a half hour to work? Grandmas house just got a lot harder to get to. The answer is in Biofuel not only is it going to be there when gasoline disappears it is also a lot healthier for the environment then gasoline. Gasoline was not invented it is natural by-product of the petroleum industry; it was originally just crude oil. The gasoline we use today is cleaner and more refined but it still is polluting the air. Do you ever see the big black smoke clouds come out of exhaust pipes? Is that what you want to breathe in or your children. With biofuel this will not be the case it wont

affect the atmosphere like gasoline. Biofuel also wont have to be dug out of the ground it will come from things like switch grass, corn, ethanol. The way we are running our planet is important for every single human being on this planet. We all care about what we are putting into the atmosphere and more black smog is not what we are looking for. Grossly simplifying issues and creating bogeymen may play well with the media, but it risks crushing desperately needed solutions (Biofuel Industry). Biofuel is a clean natural resource that should be eventually used to replace our fossil fuels. We need to continue to improve this clean renewable resource so that it is more cost efficient. Imagine an industrial world, run on your lawn clippings, that has no smog and no fear of global warming. It is a pretty picture and very achievable if we all put our time and effort in it we will have this picture in less than 50 years. In California, Google has run their biofuel car for more than 2400 miles on a 5% Cool Planet carbon-negative fuel blend (Google runs biofuel car using Cool Planet carbonnegative fuel blend) this proves we are so close we can touch it.

Works Cited Biofuels Digest. Biofuels <http://www.biofuelsdigest.com/>. Digest. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2012.

Biofuels | Environment | The Guardian . Latest US news, world news, sport and comment from the Guardian | guardiannews.com | The Guardian . N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2012. <http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/biofuels>. American Farmland Trust Issues & Programs Agriculture and the Environment. American Farmland Trust. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Jan. 2013. <http://www.farmland.org/programs/environment/renewable-energy/Ethanol-SwitchgrassBiofuels.asp?gclid=CPfe9dbJ3bQCFQSqnQodSHYAKA>. Bellis, Mary. Timeline of Gasoline and Fuel Improvements. Inventors. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Jan. 2013. <http://inventors.about.com/od/gstartinventions/a/gasoline_2.htm>. Biofuel Facts, Biofuel Information National Geographic. Environment Facts, Environment Science, Global Warming, Natural Disasters, Ecosystems, Green Living National Geographic. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2012. <http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/biofuel-profile/>. Biofuels Solid, liquid, or gas fuels made from biomass. Alternative Energy News. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Jan. 2013. <http://www.alternative-energy-news.info/technology/biofuels/>. Biotechnology for Biofuels . Biotechnology for Biofuels . N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2012. <http://www.biotechnologyforbiofuels.com/>. Home BioFuel Information. Home BioFuel Information. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2012. <http://biofuel.org.uk/>.

NREL: Learning Biofuels Basics. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) Home Page. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2012. <http://www.nrel.gov/learning/re_biofuels.html>. SeQuential Biofuels. SeQuential <http://www.sqbiofuels.com/>. Biofuels. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Jan. 2013.

burned, providing incentives without strict rules governing which materials are, how they are harvested, governments risk creating a rapacious industry that could gobble up whole forests, and critics warn. That could ultimately increase the amount of carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere &. Biofuels, Biodiesel and Ethanol The New York Times. Times Topics The New York Times. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2012. <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/energy-environment/biofuels/index.html>.