Ninety-five percent of all gasoline sold in the United States contains ethanol. This is the result of the Renewable Fuel Standard established by the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. These laws require renewable fuel to be blended into transportation fuel in increasing amounts each year through 2022.
A key goal of these programs is to reduce the levels of greenhouse gases generated by vehicle use by replacing petroleum fuels with biofuels. As a result, corn ethanol has become a major industry in the United States and has brought about significant changes in corn farming.
Has corn ethanol in gasoline lowered greenhouse gas emissions? No, according to a number of studies, including one by the Environmental Protection Agency, and it may not for some years to come. The biggest problem is that the legislation explicitly exempted previously existing ethanol production facilities from meeting specific greenhouse gas emissions requirements. As a result, ethanol, to a great extent, continues to be made in ways that contribute significant greenhouse gas emissions.
There are a number of other troubling issues associated with corn ethanol production, including its effect on food prices, its impact on land use, and even the energy balance associated with its production. If using corn ethanol doesn’t even reduce greenhouse gas emissions, it is time to take a long hard look at the Renewable Fuel Standard.
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Web Links
“Corn Ethanol and Climate Change” (Kate McMahon and Victoria Witing)
http://libcloud.s3.amazonaws.com/93/80/0/542/Corn_ethanol_and_climate_change.pdf
Photo, taken on September 11, 2007, courtesy of Kevin via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio. Support for Earth Wise comes from the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, NY, with partial support from the Field Day Foundation.