The race is on for the search of a better alternative energy source. This is because the efficiency of fossil – based fuel is staggering. Carbon dioxide emissions coming out of fossil power plants are the number one killers of the environment. In many ways, it is slowly dragging the planet to its unfortunate end. That is why many researchers are continually learning new sources, new methods of providing the people with energy that is as efficient and as effective as our current method but would produce less or zero emissions. So far, these alternative sources are solar power, tidal power, wind power, and others.
The problem is, out of all these sources could power a vehicle and other machineries that runs on fuel. Solar power is slowly gaining attention but still it isn’t enough to run machineries and vehicles. The solution is to come up with a fuel source that can be burned. Something that engines could gulp in and vaporize to run the millions of vehicles who are powered by traditional fuel – based engines. Bio ethanol is one of the solutions that technology came up with. It is a new breed of fuel that can be used on vehicles and any other equipment just like how they would use fuel. Now, they have already branded it as something that is revolutionary since it comes from natural sources but there have been disputes and debates that are currently ongoing between environmentalists whether bio ethanol is indeed a benefit or another bane of the planet. To figure out this problem, we have to weigh in both sides. We should learn the different pros and cons of this alternative fuel for us to be able to know if it’s any good at all.
Bio ethanol fuel produces no deadly carbon emissions; it could actually reduce the emissions up to ninety percent. It is also produced from natural sources, crops like corn and other stuff, crops that are usually used for animal feeds. So therefore, it is less likely for it to be a pollutant. It is indeed clean and green.
However, it takes quite a lot of crops to produce a sufficient amount of bio fuel. That is why it would definitely create an imbalance. Crops that are supposed to be used as feeds would be used to produce fuel. This would result to price hike on animal feeds and would ripple down and create a price hike on food as well. Eventually, it would cause hunger to people. Plus, because of the large demand on crops to produce this type of fuel, vast amounts of land area is needed to be converted into planting fields. This would lead to the disruption of animal’s natural habitat as well as less land for humans and animals alike. It would create such an imbalance that it would eventually lead into hunger. Another issue is that bio ethanol is not advisable to be used in vehicles in large quantities; therefore, you still need to mix it with fossil – based fuel.