Renewable Fuel: What’s the Big Deal?

This blog post was originally written for this week’s Illinois Farm Families blog at watchusgrow.org, which is a agriculture blog for Chicago moms (and really any other mom out there- farm family or urban family). It ties in really well with what I’d like to incorporate in the next part of the corn blog posts, so you can expect a follow up that goes a bit deeper than this post in the next couple of days. 

Summer 2008:

• Gas prices jump to an all-new high, to $4.00 or higher nationally, up from hovering around the $3.00 range (yes, I looked that up).
• Gracie (me) turns 16 and gets her driver’s license. Look out world!

So what’s all the hype around renewable fuels? Well, as a 21 year old, all I’ve known as a driver is shelling out $30, $40, even $50 at the pump just to fill up. And living on a student budget, there’s not a whole lot left over after rent, food, and car payments. Hopefully most of you are on a much more stable income than I am, but I’m sure you know the pain of pulling into the gas station after the latest price jump.

As most of our petroleum oil resources come from the Middle East, prices have been rocky lately. Renewable fuels (ethanol is the most common) are made here in the United States, so the price is more consistent. Petroleum is a non-renewable resource, so humans are using it up faster than the earth replenishes the supply. Corn, on the other hand, is very abundant in the Midwest and is an incredibly versatile grain with a new crop planted every spring, so we probably aren’t going to run out. Because it’s starchy, corn is an ideal source to produce ethanol. Ethanol does not have to be made from corn; in fact it’s an alcohol that can be made from almost any cereal grains and grasses, food waste, and even forestry bi-products.

When I talk about corn, I’m referring to field corn, which is not the type of corn that you’ll find at the farmer’s market this time of year. Sweet corn is what you eat, whether it is on the ear, in a can, or from the frozen foods aisle. Field corn is processed into different products, such as sweeteners, starches, and protein (used in livestock feed).

The great thing about ethanol is that it is cheaper to produce than regular gasoline, and is made from an incredibly abundant and renewable resource. Ethanol is usually purchased as a blend, meaning that it is mixed with gasoline in different proportions. You will find a 10% blend of ethanol in nearly every gallon of gasoline sold in the United States, and this helps to stabilize gas prices a bit.

Not only is ethanol less expensive to produce, but it also helps to curb CO₂ in the atmosphere. The CO₂ released from the burning of ethanol is absorbed for photosynthesis by the corn currently growing in fields across the Midwest. It’s grown domestically, lessening our dependence on foreign oil.

So why are renewable fuels so important? As I’ve said, they are cheaper and are produced in the good ol’ U.S. of A. But they are also our future. Eventually we will run out of petroleum. Whether that will be in our lifetimes or in 500 years, we need to come up with alternatives for our children and grandchildren. Is ethanol the only current renewable energy? Not at all- we’ve also got wind energy, solar energy, geothermal, etc., etc., but it is the most common that you’ll hear about. Will corn ethanol be the primary renewable fuel in 50 years? Probably not, but it’s a good start. Technology continues to improve every day, and we will see more efficient renewable fuels in the years to come. As an agriculturalist, I am particularly interested in the renewable fuels industry, since they look to agricultural products and ag wastes as fuel sources. But, just as agriculturalists are improving farming techniques, we should look at using renewable, domestic fuels, since it is our responsibility to leave this world a better place for future generations.

I support renewable fuels, do you?