Good and Bad for The Earth
.23 billion gallons of ethanol are produced in the US today with new biofuel plants coming online every month. At the production end, ethanol requires far less refining–and thus energy–than is needed to refine oil. At the user end, ethanol, and ethanol-gas mixes known as gasohol, pollute significantly less than traditional unleaded. Since the corn from which ethanol is most often derived primarily grows in the Americas, it’s an energy alternative that’s foreign policy friendly. And who could deny the warm and fuzzy feeling drivers get when they reach for that green pump?
Still, ethanol is no magic bullet. The increased demand for it is causing farmers to burn rain forest across the Amazon which in turn releases tons of carbon into the atmosphere. Increased production for energy purposes also reduces the amount of corn available as a food staple, so prices for anything from tortillas to whiskey see a corresponding jump. One analyst even asserts that an individual could be fed for a year on the corn it requires to fill one tank of gas.
Texas oil man and CEO of Andarko Petroleum, Jim Hackett, weighs in of the ethanol paradox and details his best remedy for our energy woes.
