When most people think of corn as a renewable energy source, they think of ethanol, also known as "oxygenate" because it contains thirty-five percent oxygen by weight. Ethanol is nontoxic, water soluble, highly biodegradable, and today, is usually blended with gasoline to reduce gasoline's greenhouse effect. It is also- this may come as a surprise to many- fully warranted by ALL automakers. In fact, when Henry Ford built his first cars he designed them to run on ethanol.
Despite all this, many people today still think of ethanol in a bad light. But let us first just consider its mechanical efficiency. Ethanol burns one hundred percent and leaves no residue, so there is no deposit that can affect the efficiency of an automobile's engine injection. It also doesn't require anti-freeze added to it because ethanol absorbs water so no condensation occurs. This leaves no opportunity for water to collect and freeze.
Today, most ethanol blended with gasoline mixtures contain around ten percent ethanol mixed in, but the future looks bright for a more central role of ethanol in automobile fuel. Already in the United States, a blend of gasoline made from eighty-five percent ethanol and only fifteen percent petroleum is already having an exciting affect on the automotive industry. Known as E85, it costs, on average, ten to twenty cents less than gasoline, and already over three million automobiles are driven in the United States alone that run on E85 or any other blend of ethanol and gasoline. E85 can be viewed as a sign that a more active role of ethanol will be played in the future. So while, yes, the United States uses around 320 million gallons of gas a day, and current ethanol production cannot keep up with that as of now, we must recognize the gradual change that ethanol is already causing an automobile fuel and see its future implications. No, there is no golden bullet that is going to stop our dependence on foreign oil in one day, but through steady change we can switch to better energy sources for our planet.
Ethanol is not only beneficial because of its efficiency, but also for its positive support of the American economy. Ethanol is domestically produced. Except for in times of serious hardship, almost all our ethanol supply comes from American ethanol plants. The United States, also, is generally a net exporter of fuel ethanol. Compare this to oil, which in 2002 was estimated over fifty eight percent was imported, and that number was only expected to drastically increase. Ethanol production also helps farmers. An estimation for 2004 predicted an increase of one hundred twenty million dollars of profit nationwide for corn farmers. Clearly, it benefits the American economy.
Many critics of ethanol say that corn should instead be used for food. However, studies show that the process used to make ethanol does not remove any of corn's nutritional value. In ethanol production, only the starch portion of the kernel is converted to ethanol. The vitamins, minerals, proteins, fiber, and high energy corn oil still remain. In fact, one bushel of corn yields 2.7 gallons of ethanol, 15-18 pounds of livestock feed, sixteen pounds of carbon dioxide for beverage or refrigeration use, and 2 pounds of corn oil. So the use of corn as an alternative energy source does not have to eliminate its nutritional capabilities.
Besides ethanol, corn has been used in many different ecologically friendly ways. In household cleaners, beverages, containers, even to de-ice roads, corn has been used to reduce the amount of toxic chemicals in cosmetic use. Also, being a plant, corn breathes carbon dioxide while giving off oxygen, adding in no way to global warming, and is easily renewable.
There is still much to debate over the use of corn as a major alternative energy source, as there is with any alternative whether it is wind, solar, or geothermal. If we were to look for immediate, one hundred percent exchange from oil to an alternative source then nothing would be able to stand up in oil's place. The change has to be gradual, and with every day it becomes more and more important that we start making that change now. Corn is definitely a viable option. It is domestically produced, provides fewer emissions for cleaner air, helps preserve our limited natural resources, and most importantly, corn is renewable, which is a benefit that oil will never have.
Asya Cara Hollins
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