Corn-Based Ethanol Hardly Better Than Gasoline
Biofuels good, right? Wrong. A new study by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development reports that it's not a simple answer. But the biofuel of choice for the United States – corn ethanol – is the one that cuts greenhouse gas emissions the least.
Here's the rundown on the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from cars burning fuels made from various forms of ethanol rather than gasoline:
Corn ethanol only reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 0 to 3 percent, compared to gasoline. Sugar cane ethanol provides a 50 to 70 percent reduction while cellulosic ethanol provides at least a 90 percent reduction.
These biofuels emit significant amounts of nitrous oxide, which is 206 times more dangerous than carbon dioxide.
But which of these crops does the United States subsidize? Corn. And which one of these crops does the United States charge an import tariff on? Sugar cane.
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Comments
That is an interesting article Mike. But even if the oil industry is funding such studies, many non-oil groups have stated similar findings. There seem to be many negative effects of increasing corn crops for ethanol in the United States, such as excessive water requirements and land and food price increases. If this OECD study is correct, perhaps we should be looking more into sugar and cellulosic-based ethanol.
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_40/b4052052.htm?chan=search