The search for greener pastures may not end in Midwestern corn fields

By Christopher Forestieri

As candidates rally to get the most votes, it’s hard to believe everything you hear. But the debate over ethanol has taken center stage in the wake of high fuel and food costs.

Ethanol supporters claim that the fuel is renewable because it can be made from corn, soy and switch grass. Others say that it will lesson our dependence on foreign oil because the product can be grown in the U.S.

But there are a growing number of people who do not see ethanol and other bio-fuels as the best alternative to oil. Critics cite the environmental and economic impacts caused by ethanol production as well as the emissions released when it is burned as fuel.

Others worry that government subsidies on corn for ethanol production has meant that the bio-fuel movement has been inflated to take advantage of increased government assistance.

According to the National Corn Growers Association, an agricultural lobby, ethanol is “a cleaner-burning fuel with higher octane.” On their website, they list a number of ethanol’s benefits.

• Ethanol adds oxygen to gasoline—helping it combust more completely and reducing the level of toxic exhaust emissions
• Ethanol reduces our nation’s dangerous and expensive dependence on imported oil
• The ethanol industry creates jobs and investment across the nation—especially in rural areas
• Ethanol increases America’s fuel supply—helping keep gas prices down
• Ethanol adds value to America’s corn harvest and helps reduce the cost of federal farm programs.

However, some would say that their facts do not tell the whole story. Because ethanol is predominately made from corn, its production can have a negative impact on both the environment and the economy.

Just last week, Mexico’s Agriculture Secretary Alberto Cardenas called for a reduction in the production of grains used to produce ethanol. According to Cardenas, “ethanol production is bankrupting cattle and poultry farmers and causing food prices to hit record highs around the world.”

Other critics question whether ethanol emissions are better for the environment than gasoline.

According to a study by Mark Z. Jacobson, an atmospheric scientist at Stanford University, mass use of ethanol-based fuel could increase ozone related health problems.

“Our results show that a high blend of ethanol poses an equal or greater risk to public health than gasoline, which already causes significant health damage,” Jacobson said..

Despite its drawbacks, the attention ethanol is getting is certainly positive for the environmental movement. Whether or not it is the fuel of the future, it is a major step towards exploring alternative energy sources.

But it may be in America’s best interest to divert some of the funding for ethanol research and production toward other alternatives to oil such as making wind and solar options affordable and creating higher quality and farther reaching public transportation.

We may have not found the greenest technology, but we are starting to take the search seriously.

Photo courtesy of University of Vermont