Corn-Based Ethanol: Innovative Alternative Fuel or Bad Idea?
by Shannon Geis
The U.S. Congress is due to reauthorize the U.S. Farm Bill this year as it does every 5 years and one important issue involved in the Farm Bill is the production and use of corn-based ethanol, an alternative fuel source created by distilling corn. There are many proponents for expanding production but there are also several critics.
Ethanol supporters, centered mostly in the U.S. Midwest, want more government support to build ethanol plants and to market the alternative fuel. Already the increase in ethanol production has created higher corn prices, which may help small farmers in the Midwest stay in business. This can only be a good thing for the farming community and the country alike, right? An environmentally friendly fuel alternative that is created using crops that U.S. farmers grow. It sounds good.
But this situation might not be as great as it sounds. In fact, ethanol may not be the wonderful alternative it seemed to be a few years ago. There has been an increasing debate about the production of ethanol and whether it is actually as beneficial to the environment as we have been led to believe.
Ethanol mixed with gasoline, such as E10 unleaded, has been proven to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases from car exhaust. But in this case the fuel being put into the car is only 10% ethanol. E85 unleaded, a mixture that is 85% ethanol, which is also the one most promoted by the agriculture industry, may actually have more environmental costs than it saves.
The problem lies in what is used to fuel the production of ethanol. Many of the ethanol plants built across the Midwest over the past few years are fueled by none other than fossil fuels. So while it may give you the illusion of being environment friendly as you fill up your tank with ethanol, it is highly likely that the plant which processed the ethanol was running on fossil fuels and emitting large amounts of greenhouse gases. However, this fact has been debated and there are many different studies showing drastically different results.
While it is difficult to change the ethanol plants that have already been built, an alternative type of plant is being built near the small town of Mead, Nebraska. This plant is innovative because it uses cow manure from an adjacent feed lot to fuel the production of ethanol. Then the by-product from the ethanol production, wet distillers' grain, is used to feed the cattle on the feed lot. It is called a "closed loop" system and it is highly efficient. For every unit of energy put into this production system, 47 units of energy are produced. Unfortunately, this system is currently the only one of its kind and there haven't been any major plans to use this system on a wider scale.
Not only does ethanol seem to be much less environmentally friendly than originally thought, there might be other major downfalls with the fuel as well. Traditionally, corn grown in the United States has gone to food production or, more largely, livestock feed. As the demand and production of ethanol continues to rise, more and more corn is going to ethanol plants. This means that less and less is going to livestock feed and food production. Basic economics tells us that if there is less of something it becomes more expensive. That is the case now. Corn prices are higher than they've been for a long time.
This is wonderful news for farmers but cattle ranchers and other livestock owners who need to buy corn based grain for their animals are finding it more expensive to raise their livestock. These higher prices get translated to us, the consumers. Prices on milk, eggs, and meat have already begun to rise here in the U.S. But even more troublesome are the price increases of our food exports. Unfortunately, the United States does not export very much food to foreign countries, yet the places that do receive our exports are dealing with more expensive products. Mexico, for example, has already seen protests erupting over the high prices of corn tortillas.
An obvious solution might be to increase the amount of corn grown in the U.S. It seems like a logical idea. Unfortunately it's not that simple. According to the Associated Press, a report released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture states that farmers planted an estimated 92.9 million acres of corn nationally this year, 19% more corn than last year. This is a significantly high number. But more corn being planted means less land for soybeans and wheat, which are two other important U.S. crops. It can also mean planting on fallow land, which could eventually cause soil erosion and start hurting wildlife habitats. To top it off, even if all of the current U.S. corn production was dedicated to biofuel production, it would only meet 12% of the country’s current gasoline demand, according to a National Geographic Article. That puts a damper on it being the replacement for foreign fuels.
While many U.S. farmers are benefiting from the high demand of corn for ethanol production, it seems that corn-based ethanol is a long way from being the brilliant alternative to foreign oil.
Sources:
1. Associated Press. "Corn planting exceeds already high expectations." AP News Wire.
2. Knapp, Fred. "Cattlemen-Ethanol." June 14, 2007. NET Radio News. KUCV-Lincoln, NE. <www.netnebraska.org/radio>.
3. Norris, Scott. "New Ethanol Plants to Be Fueled by Cow Manure." August 18, 2006. Accessed: June 27, 2007. < http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/08/060818-ethanol.html>.
4. Roach, John. "Ethanol Not So Green After All?" July 11, 2006. Accessed: June 27, 2007. < http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/07/060711-ethanol-gas_2.html>.
5. Stover, Dawn. "Is America Heading For A Food Shortage?" June 2007. Accessed: July 2, 2007. < http://www.popsci.com/popsci/science/f1a136eb64603110vgnvcm1000004eecbccdrcrd.html>.
