Using ethanol instead of fossil fuels The use of ethanol as an alternative to fossil fuels could greatly reduce pollution. This fuel burns cleaner, is easily replenished, and comes right from American soil, making it less expensive for the ... with a positive energy balance of 134%, compared to 85% for gasoline. Ethanol production is also, by far, the most efficient method of producing liquid transportation fuels. 10-percent ethanol blends reduce carbon monoxide better than any other reformulated gasoline blend -- as much as 25%. Ethanol is low in reactivity and high in oxygen ... more oxyge...

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• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... just be watching our natural resources get consumed at an outstanding rate, while only slightly trying to fix the problem. "The entire world's economy is based on oil and other fossil fuels. These provide fuel, lubricants, asphalt, paint, plastics, fertilizer, and many other products. In 1850, before commercial production began, there were about two trillion barrels of oil in the ground. By ... that amount. (Goodchild) This quote proves the depletion of natural resources, although the issue probably will never be 100 percent proven, it shows with statistics are fairly definitive that ou...

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... social benefits. Some good reasons to use biomass as a sustainable fuel: correctly managed, biomass is a sustainable fuel that can offer a significant reduction in net carbon emissions compared with fossil fuels, biomass can be sourced locally, on an indefinite basis, contributing to security of supply and Woodlands, forestry and agriculture are generally perceived to be an environmentally and socially attractive comfort ... we use, we have a renewable energy source whose use does not substantially disturb the natural biochemical cycle on a human time scale. Replacing fossil fuels with b...

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... life that can be improved in order to resolve current pollution problems and future resource problems. A topic that specifically pertains to both of these issues is the use of fossil fuels to power automobiles. Fossil fuels are a nonrenewable energy resource. This means "these resources are being used much faster than they can be produced and the amount of these materials is finite" (Eldon D. ... contribution coming from highway motor vehicles. In urban areas, the motor vehicle contribution to carbon monoxide pollution can exceed 90 percent." This shows a direct correlation between the...

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... drilling technologies. Although the hydraulic fracturing industry creates more jobs in the U.S., it damages the environment by polluting underground water reserves and increases dependence on greenhouse gas producing fossil-fuels, therefore making the industry a short term success but long term liability for our country. Commonly known as hydraulic fracturing or hydro-fracturing, fracking is contemporary mining technique. ... to be an efficient technique of energy production. Evidently, manipulation of natural gas bears the capability of improving the quality of air, while replacing the...

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... corn-gluten and by-products of the fermentation process such as corn oil and high protein animal feed supplements. Because there is a decreasing supply of fossil fuels on earth, the use of ethanol as an alternative, helps to extend the life of the petroleum supply on earth. Ethanol is a safe ... engines costs more to run and produce. This cost plus the fact that ethanol production is more costly on a per-volume basis than some other alternative fuels is a deterring factor in the consumption of ethanol as a fuel. Ethanol in a highly concentrated state can be corrosive to some automotive ...

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... oxygen," called carbohydrates" (How Biomass Energy Works"). The easiest way to generate energy through biomass is to burn it. From the earliest times mankind has burned wood and other biomass fuels in order to make heat. The heat from burning wood can be used for a number of processes from heating water to smelting ore. The most common use of biomass for ... could power anything from trains to ships. More recently, "biomass fired steam power has been used to generate electricity [which] can have numerous environmental and air-quality advantages over burning fossil fuels" (How Biomass En...

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... a conventional vehicle, with a significant portion of the energy and environmental benefits of an electric vehicle. HEVs have several advantages over conventional vehicles: HEVs can reduce dependency on fossil fuels because they can run on alternative fuels. Special lightweight materials are used to reduce the overall vehicle weight of HEVs. Regenerative braking capability helps minimize energy loss and recover the energy used to slow ... down or stop a vehicle. Fuel cells generate electricity through an electrochemical reaction that combines hydrogen with ambient air. Pure hydrogen or ...

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... negative environmental impacts of offshore drilling greatly outweigh any possible economic benefits. Crude oil is a very important natural resource. It is defined as being a fossil fuel. Thus, it is the product of decades old decay of sea plants and animals and is found in abundance in very old sea beds. ... contain within them a lot of energy and so, through a refining process, crude oil can be used to produce many high-energy compounds such as fuels, namely gasoline. Crude oil is also a rich source of many other natural occurring elements besides hydrogen and carbon. Examples of these...

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... cars or alternative fuel powered cars. In terms of future developments, the focus is shifting from making cars more fuel-efficient to developing cars that do not run on traditional fuels. The Bush Administration announced last year "it will work with country's Big Three car companies to accelerate the development of hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles. Success in the admittedly ambitious endeavor ... could remove cars and trucks from the energy and environmental debates altogether."" (Brown) This alternative has perhaps the most potential, using hydrogen fuel cells for power eliminates the need...

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... as the 1002 Area, and is the cause of the debate over whether or not to drill for oil. This is due to the fact that it is rich in fossil fuels, but also thought of as the most critical area in the entire ecosystem. The coastal plains are a habitat for over 160 different species of birds, polar bears, a herd of Porcupine ... . Also, polls show that a majority of Americans do not support Bush's views on oil consumption or the country's current energy policy. There is also an interest in finding alternatives to fossil fuel based energy, which is something that has not been fully supported b...

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... source of greenhouse gas emissions in the country. Increasing the amount of pipelines allows the product to flow and helps increase the expansion of oil extraction and the burning of fossil fuels causing soil-pollution. In order to keep global temperatures and avoid disastrous climate change the extraction of oil must be moderated to keep the ground at a two-degree increase level ... ...

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... retrievable oil. Thus opening up the Artic reserve would take more time and cost more to the consumer in the long run. 4/5 of the world's energy consumption relies on nonrenewable fossil fuel. At the present rate, gas supplies should last 200 years and coal will last for 3000 years. But even before the energy problem becomes critical, pollution from these ... fuels will severely damage our environment. If the government devoted the $55.1 billion a year it spends on importing oil from foreign ventures to finding alternative and more environmentally friendly energy sources, ... ...

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