Sci 207 Week 3 Discussion 1

Natural disasters occurring from the climate change could be on the rise. Global warming has been rumored to be causing more hurricanes, typhoons, cyclones, heavier monsoonal rains that cause major flooding, mud slides, and other disasters worldwide. A tropical cyclone, also referred to as hurricanes, typhoons, or cyclones, depending on where in the world the cyclone is occurring, are one of the world’s grandest shows of energy provided by nature. Hurricanes are large, swirling, low pressure storms that have sustained winds of over 74 miles an hour and are formed over warm ocean waters (NASA, n.d.). The purpose of this paper is to discuss hurricanes

The term “peak oil” refers to the point when oil production reaches its maximum rate and then its production gradually decreases. There is no doubt that having cities as peak oils will drastically affect many lives. But what exactly are the effects of peak oil? There are many effects that could possibly end the lives of many. One would be that peak oil will affect health services. The Gross Domestic Product or simply the GDP will decline as a result of peak oil. When the GDP declines, it will affect what communities can spend on health care and other social health activities and programs. Most models of health care provisions depend on cheap fossil fuels. Since peak oil will decrease the quantity of oil and as a result increase the prices,

The United States should increase the amount of corn based ethanol used as fuel. The environment would be protected by the burning of corn based ethanol. Because burning ethanol requires greater complete combustion, the exhaust gases of ethanol are much cleaner than those of gasoline. The use of ethanol-blended fuel (primarily E85, 85% ethanol 15% gasoline ) has the ability to reduce the net emissions of greenhouse gases by 37.1%. E10 (90% gasoline 10% ethanol) reduces the greenhouse gas emission by 3.9%. The additives in gasoline such as tetraethyl lead, are dangerous when admitted into the air and if are spilled in the environment. If there were to be a fuel spill of corn based ethanol, the fuel would be more “easily biodegraded or diluted

Fuel prices seem to be the subject that always makes headlines on a regular basis since the United States is the biggest consumer of fossil fuel in the world. The Central Intelligence Agency reported that in 2015 alone, the United States consumed over 19 million barrels of refined petroleum products per day. The data suggests that Americans consumed almost 5 million barrels more than China and India, the two most populous countries on earth. (Central Intelligence Agency, n.d.) High energy consumption forces Americans to rely on foreign fuel sources since domestic fuel supplies are simply not enough to satisfy the thirst. Due to this very reason, the U.S. is often subject to unpredictable fuel prices and fuel shortage scare. It also has to cope with the rise in emission that contributes directly to climate change, another hot topic of the 21st century. Enter ethanol, an alcohol addition to gasoline that promises to reduce fuel prices, stretch fuel supplies, and solve the global warming dilemma. Ethanol, however, has not lived up to its reputation. In fact, it has fallen short on many occasions and become a subject of controversy.

Ethanol did not become such a staple addition to gasoline until the 1970s due to fuel shortage scare. Its use became even more prevalent in the early 2000s with the increase in global warming awareness. The Renewable Fuels Association reports that the United States alone produced over 15 billion gallons of ethanol, a 14 billion gallons increase from its production in 1999 (Industry Statistics, 2017). While ethanol is a clean energy when use, however, its production is not quite as clean clean as it appears to be. Ethanol is considered renewable since the heartland of the United States grows so much corn annually to supply the plant. The corn growing process is quite damaging to the environment. Farming equipment runs on diesel fuel, which directly contributes to the greenhouse gas production. The use of fertilizer and insect repellent chemical is harmful to soil and atmosphere. The transportation of crops relies heavily on semi-tractors that still heavily rely on fossil fuel, thus exacerbate the problem. Not to mention that ethanol plants require electricity primarily generated by coal-fired power plants since it is much more efficient and a lot cheaper. All these factors contribute to the global warming problem, the very problem that ethanol is supposed to

“According to the Renewable Fuels Association, ethanol production in 2013 added more than 87,000 direct jobs across the country, $44 billion to the gross domestic product, and $30.7 billion in household income” ("Ethanol Benefits and Considerations"). A nonrenewable resource, gasoline, currently occupies the United States’s spot as the main fuel source. This not only means our fuel supply will eventually be depleted, but the country’s main fuel supply is harming the environment. Throughout the last decade, the idea of ethanol, a renewable resource, starting to replace gasoline has been debated, but until the last few years, remained implausible. Recent technology innovations, enhancing the performance of ethanol fuel, transformed this idea into a reality. The adoption of ethanol as the main source of our country’s fuel not only benefits the country as a whole but individuals’ vehicles .

The process to turn this kerogen into usable oil would cost tremendous amounts of money (Rhodes). With the threat of oil running out so soon, this raises concern for the world’s infrastructure, which heavily relies on oil. Even our food “runs” on oil. Soybeans grown and harvested in Brazil need to be transported by trucks, ships, airplanes, and trains. The equipment used for harvesting those soybeans also rely on oil (Rhodes). Ethanol is alcohol made from the fermentation of sugars by yeasts. It is an alternative to petroleum, as it can be derived from sources such as corn and plant sugars. Ethanol is usually derived from corn, barely, or wheat. The grain is first milled, then fermented with yeast to turn the starches of the grain into alcohol, then distilled and turned into fuel (West). Now, most gasoline found in the U.S has ethanol in it (“U.S. Energy”). Biodiesel is another alternative to petroleum, and it can be generated from vegetable oils, animal fats, recycled restaurant grease, and even algae. In fact, algae could be 10 or even 100 times more productive than traditional petroleum (“Algal Biofuels”). Although this seems like a likely solution to reducing petroleum usage and cutting down carbon admissions, this proves false. Mass amounts of farming can cause major damage to

The composition may pose a problem, but the components are also valuable in that they are natural, renewable resources. Using natural resources instead of oil would lower the US’s dependence on foreign oil. By lowering our oil intake from other countries, the US can reduce military spending that is directed at maintaining oil supplies, and instead spend this money on other costs for internal matters. In addition, most infrastructure is already formed to adapt to this ethanol. Most cars on the road in the US are Fuel Flex capable, so it would pose no needed change. Also, around the country there are about 2000 E85 spots available at gas stations. Overall, its energy output is 2 to 36 times the energy required to produce it. With more energy output, there is less fuel needed to be created (using less resources) and consumers will be able to pay less at the pump and instead use it for other expenses. Most notable, is the fact that using ethanol reduces 85-94% of emissions compared to oil. Reducing emissions will in turn lower the greenhouse effect, and lessen global warming effects (GreenTheFuture). In general, this matter is low costing or free. Municipal solid waste, which can be used, can even be subsidized to take, since normally it would have to be paid for for its disposal in a landfill. By using non edible fuel crops and municipal solid waste, consumer prices for groceries will not be driven upward, unlike corn, which uses farmland that otherwise would have been used for food production. Thus, corn drives up the price of food (Christian, Jan. 5, 2015). While opponents argue that it would require vast farming operations, meaning clearcutting in some cases, acquisition of

Gas is an invaluable commodity in today’s society. It is used in everything from cars, to lawnmowers, to generators, to boats. Everyone uses it, but what exactly goes into it besides oil? One of the answers to this is ethanol. Ethanol has been going into gasoline since the 1920’s and was widely used during WWII (Gustafson, 2010). Ethanol gasoline became popular in the 1970’s due to the climbing prices of gasoline (Gustafson, 2010). The high price of gasoline was a result of oil shortages because of production cuts by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. (The Washington Times, 2006). The reason a rise in prices and a shortage of oil led to adding ethanol to gasoline was because ethanol was an easily and cheaply created (Gustafson,

Not only is Ethanol “a renewable energy source that can be produced domestically by using a wide range of agricultural crops,” but under this act was the Renewable Fuel Standard, which “is a federal program that requires transportation fuel sold in the United States to contain a minimum volume of renewable fuels,” Ethanol is apart of and therefore becomes much more useful than fossil fuels. On top of creating the Renewable Fuel Standard, the act also “lifted the oxygenate requirement for reformulated gasoline, allowing refiners to produce gasoline without an oxygenate, provided that gasoline continues to meet Clean Air Act standards. Oxygenates, such as ethanol or MTBE, are added to reformulated gasoline to make the fuel burn cleaner and produce fewer tailpipe emissions.” While Ethanol production had been increasing, it wasn’t until about 2005 when production growth for Ethanol, and therefore the corn being used for Ethanol, began to grow much quicker. (Graph

In a time of energy crisis and a subsequent search for a renewable replacement for crude oil, biofuels have arisen as a source of hope.   Currently, the largest source of biofuels in the United States is corn-based ethanol. The large scale of corn-ethanol production and the potential promise of finding a domestic, reliable source of energy, requires the fuel’s viability as a replacement for crude oil to be evaluated.  However, there is debate surrounding corn-based ethanol’s environmental, economic, and social impacts. The scientists and governments who support the development of biofuels claim that it will not only provide a new and sustainable source of energy but also that it will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and is therefore better for the environment. However, although corn-based ethanol continues to harbor support from the United States government, environmentalists argue that ethanol is not substantially better for the environment, especially when the effects of its production are taken into account.  Also, while some larger farms profit from ethanol production, it places economic stress upon smaller farms and the agricultural industry and leads to higher food prices that are a great detriment to those living at the level of subsistence.  Therefore, in order to produce energy-efficient, environmentally-friendly fuel, the United States must work towards developing cellulosic biofuels and those produced by microbes as they have fewer consequences than corn-based

Well we all know that the energy system is very unstable because the total energy available on the earth is limited, and man has exploited all the conventional technologies to fulfill his needs. By the use of these conventional technologies, the world also has a disability, with problems such as global warming. Consumption of energy by man increased gradually as his wants also increase. The conventional energy resources mainly include fossil fuels, but research shows that this fuel source will be depleted completely in approximately 20-25 years. This could cause major setbacks around the world. As a result, we need an alternative source of fuel that could keep the world running on its wheel. One possibility is ethanol. Chemically extract

Ethanol made its debut in the early 1970s, and by the late 1980s, ethanol was beginning to be used for fueling cars (Fuel-testers, 2012). Now in the midst of the green movement of the 2000s, ethanol can be found in over 90 percent of gasoline at public gas stations (Fuel-testers, 2012). This technology is being pushed to new extremes as it strives toward its goal of replacing gasoline as our main fuel source. Ethanol promises us less gas emissions, less dependence on foreign oil, and prolonged use of a healthier environment.

One proponent of alternate energies, James Kunstler, author of "The Long Emergency" outlines the need for an alternative fuel source, but also explains the pit falls of alternate energy sources. The reason oil is such a valued and highly used commodity is because of its efficiency and wide range of uses compared to other energy sources. The truth is that no matter what proponents of alternate energies say, there is no good substitute at this time for oil which is largely the reason we're still using it. Kunstler explains the pitfalls of hydrogen energy, coal and solar. The hydrogen used in fuel cells is largely derived from natural gas resources, coal is less versatile and solar energy is expensive to produce. Considering the cost of oil at the consumer level it seems common sense that if there was a cheaper, comparably efficient substitute we would be jumping at the

Ethanol, made from corn, is part of the first generation biofuels, which are cheaper but have a larger impact on food supply. The price of ethanol is higher than the current gas prices when factors like transportation and labour are taken into account. However, airlines may find this type of biofuel