Sustainable Development. Any construction that can be maintained over time without damaging the environment; development balancing near-term interests with the protection of the interests of future generations.National Interest. A state's national interest is multi faceted.National interest is simply a states interest in its security and survival.In the modern world, however, it is considered to be a states ambition towards the growth of its economy, wealth, and power.Alternate Energy. The umbrella term that refers to any source of usable energy intended to replace fuel sources without the undesired consequences of the replaced fuels.The United States' undesired increase of dependency of oil from the Middle East coupled with the public's increased awareness of the negative environmental impact of fossil fuel emissions, has caused a public outcry for alternate sources of energy.In the wake of the turmoil in the middle-east and their love of their environment, Americans have sought alternate sources of energy.Through their impatient nature of and lack of skepticism, Americans have allowed themselves to be led to believe that ethanol is the solution that reduces our dependency of fossil fuel.What is also failed to be realized is the implications of ethanol.Ethanol production is very impractical and furthermore, it has caused a rise of inflation and food shortages.Our current methods for creating ethanol are as inefficient as they are detrimental to the environment.Currently, corn is the main source of ethanol.It is harvested and sold to ethanol plants where it is then broken down and fermented into ethyl alcohol.It is then mixed with gasoline, labeling it E-85, eighty-five percent ethanol and fifteen percent gasoline.What is often overlooked and unrealized is the actual amount of land and energy required to create ethanol.In order to make one gallon of ethanol, approximately twenty-six pounds of corn is required.One acre of land can produce 7,110 pounds of corn, which translates into 328 gallons of ethanol.With that in mind, one might ask, 'how much corn would it take to produce enough for the United States to be independent of imported fossil fuels?' Some researches estimate that if all available farmland was subsidized for ethanol production, there would only be enough to power about 4 percent of the United States' energy needs on a net basis.With the current technology used in ethanol production, it is impossible to completely become fossil fuel energy independent.Ethanol is not only impractical but is also very inefficient.It is widely debated as to whether ethanol, as a fuel, results in net gains in energy or losses.Most recent studies have shown that it takes more energy to produce it than is actually gained.When the energy associated with planting, fertilizing, maintenance, harvesting, transporting, and production are all taken into consideration; it takes roughly 1 unit of energy to produce .64 units of energy.So corn ethanol runs on only 64 percent efficiency.One must consider fuel sustainability when we lose 46 percent of the energy involved in production on a net basis.With so much corn demanded for the production of ethanol, the question of its effect on food supply and demand is raised.What does the future of the food supply and demand look like, given that the 'eviro-friendly' ethanol fuel is employed?Ethanol production is dramatically affecting not only the United States; it is affecting the entire world's food market.With the sudden spike in demand for corn, a result in ethanol production, prices in food have become very inflated.Milk prices have increased by over 200 percent, corn prices have quadrupled in one year causing starvation and unrest in many third world countries.Countries including Mexico, Indonesia, Yemen, and Egypt are all feeling the sting of shortages and high food prices.In Mexico, there were 'tortilla riots', a result of the high prices for corn flour.Mexico's poorest citizens diet consists mainly of tortillas.If the price increases of corn flour continues, malnourishment and starvation is certain to accelerate.Mexico's officials have tried to put a price cap on the price of corn flour but shopkeepers simply cannot maintain such low prices when the prices they par are so high.In other third world countries such as Egypt, food shortages have caused unrest and have nurtured Islamic radicalism.Does Ethanol help us with one problem or just create others? As more corn goes into ethanol production the necessity for land designated to corn growth will increase every year.To counter overproduction, maintain market balance and keep a healthy environment, the US government implemented a program called Conservation Reserve Program (commonly referred to as CRP) in the 1950's.CRP is a program that subsidizes land to reduce erosion, increase habitat for wildlife and stop over production of crops.The farmer agrees to let these subsidized areas grow into wild grass and plant reserves.The CRP program is very important to environmental enhancement in areas all over the United States, especially the mid-west.As the demand for ethanol increases, farmers will begin to search for ways to maximize they're production of corn.Corn requires a fall tillage which leaves the soil barren between October and June.In areas where ground is most vulnerable, such as steep inclines, CRP is planted to prevent erosion.An erosion experiment was conducted at the Rathburn Lake Watershed in Iowa.After converting approximately 29 percent of the most erosive land (approximately 4 percent of the entire lake's watershed) into row crops from CRP, an increase in erosion was very apparent.By replacing the CRP with row crops (corn is a row crop), the erosion increased by 204,000 tons of sediment per year.That was four times the government's acceptable level of annual erosion for Rathburn Lake's watershed.As the demand for cellulosic ethanol production increases, the affect on sustainable soil quality remains uncertain.Farming corn is very clean.After a harvest, there is little to no residual crops left.Therefore, in order for there to be any nutrients in the soil, farmers must inject pesticides and fertilizers into the soil in order to plant corn the following year.In addition to the increase of sediment flowing into water sources, the amount of chemicals comes into consideration.As a result of the increased amount of phosphorus at Lake Rathburn, an algae growth was stimulated in conjunction with the increase of sediment deposition.This spike in algae growth shortened the lifespan of the lake.As a consequence of the increase of pesticides and fertilizers such as nitrate, the water will become unsuitable for humans to drink and for aquatic life to live in.Exposed farmland sprayed with fertilizers and pesticides will wash pollutants into water sources potentially killing aquatic life and becoming toxic for humans to drink.In the city of Doon, where the city's water head is farmland, the nitrate levels exceeded legal limits by 10 to 40 percent.Furthermore, regarding water quality, waste after ethanol production, is very high in levels of contaminants.Any breach in a holding pond, waste system or cooling system could have a detrimental impact on nearby water on both aquatic life and water quality for humans.The method of disposing of these contaminated waters would be discharging them into water sources but in limited amounts.The aquatic organisms are not the only life forms at risk.Various birds and animals rely on the existence of clean water and CRP for their very survival.There have been proposals to completely eliminate the CRP program in Iowa.In some states, such as South Dakota and Iowa, CRP will be eliminated by up to 60 percent in the next year.The species particularly affected by this legislation is the Ring-Neck Pheasant.Iowa is currently one of the most sought after pheasant hunting destinations in United States.State wide, Iowa grosses over 90 million dollars annually from pheasant hunters.Pheasant hunting is an industry in rural parts of some states that many people depend on to make a living.The population of pheasants is expected to decline by 55 percent due to the loss of CRP habitat.Bird populations such as the Northern Harrier and the Henslow Sparrow are two other species that will be threatened should current CRP lands be significantly reduced.The effect that ethanol has on the environment are very unappealing.From an efficiency stand point, corn ethanol is not a viable option to replace fossil fuels.On the brighter side, new technologies on the not so distant horizon may enable us to switch to ethanol as an alternative fuel.Research and development have explored the possibility of obtaining ethanol from more efficient sources.One particular species that has gained a lot of attention is switch grass.Bio-genetic engineers have created a strain of switch grass that can grow up to 10 feet tall.The level of efficiency is far better than corn.Comparably, switch grass runs at 700 percent efficiency, superior to corn's 64 percent.There are other positive facts about switch grass that make it very appealing.Switch grass grows fast and it is not a 'row crop' like corn.Switch grass grows just like other prairie grasses, which would reduce the amount of erosion.Furthermore, switch grass provides much better cover and habitat for species such as the Ring Necked Pheasant.Switch grass is certainly another option that should be explored.There are several other sources of energy in development that may also decrease our dependency on fossil fuels as well.Wind energy, hydroelectric and hydrogen are all potentially environmental friendly alternate fuel sources.Hydrogen power is an energy source that has not been thoroughly explored, but could potentially be the cleanest and cheapest form of energy.Hydrogen is the most abundant resource on our planet.It can even be harvested from algae.Transforming hydrogen into a usable energy form is very difficult, dangerous and inefficient with the present technology.Hydrogen is still very far from being used as a fuel source.But with continued effort of technological advancement and further research, hydrogen could very well become a potential source for alternate energy.Concerning the topic of sustainability, corn ethanol is not a technique that should be employed as an alternate energy source.There is net energy loss when producing ethanol.If more energy is used in producing ethanol than is actually gained, then how can it be rationalized as an alternate energy source? Soil degradation will also become a major concern should corn ethanol production continue.As stated earlier, corn would be planted continuously, causing erosion and elevate the chemical contaminant levels in the environment.This would decrease the lifespan of many valuable water sources and destroy the environments that many species depend on.So as the United States moves toward ethanol, more land will be required to meet the quantity of corn demanded.This will decrease the land designated for soybean, rice, grains and livestock.Inevitably this shortage of food supply will inflate prices of food to the point where poorer people will no longer be able to afford them.This could cause unrest globally.Should we proceed with this strategy of corn ethanol as our alternate energy source, we could possibly degrade the soil to the point where we could no longer farm it, One must now ask, is ethanol really the answer to saving the environment and protecting our national interest? Or is it simply politicians pandering to a voting bloc?After weighing the gains and losses in of our national interest, it can be concluded that we would lose more than we will gain should we substitute corn ethanol for fossil fuels.First, I will lay out the gains should we commit to ethanol production.We could become energy independent, and no longer rely on the Middle East for oil.For this reason, many people endorse the idea of ethanol.We are currently at war with many Middle Eastern countries and on tense terms with several others.Should we have to commit to war with any other countries, we must have our own source of energy.The environment, in some ways, is a beneficiary to the ethanol switch.Ethanol burns far cleaner than any fossil fuel, leaving a much smaller carbon foot print.Engines run more efficiently and are often cleaned, reducing the amount of sludge buildup in the engine.These are some of the potential gains to our national interest should we switch to ethanol.In my opinion, the negative affects outweigh the gains.Ethanol is inefficient; it requires more energy to produce a unit of energy than is gained.It will cost more to produce the fuel than will be gained from it.Although fossil fuels run at about 84 percent efficiency, it still is better than the 64 percent efficiency of ethanol.Ethanol production will endanger or cause species to become extinct.This could create ecosystem problems by allowing certain species to proliferate while devastating others.Our soil quality will diminish, making it harder for future generations to sustain a high quality of life.If the demand for corn continues to rise, food shortages are imminent.It will inflate the cost of food and decrease the amount of available food world wide.It will make it harder for poorer Americans to pay for food.People could resort to crime as a way to survive.In other countries poorer people will no longer be able to afford food at such a high price, leading to starvation and malnourishment.So why should Americans care? As seen in Egypt, Yemen, Bangladesh, and even Mexico, food shortages cause unrest and a rise in radicalism.In Egypt, a rise in radicalism was noticed when the supply of corn was reduced and the price was increased.In Mexico, thousands of demonstrators rioted over the high price of corn flour.Impoverished people will resort to crime and revolt if that is what it takes to keep them fed.Ethanol is not the answer to our problems.It is in effect the grounds for more problems to surface and for existing problems to deteriorate even further.
Saturday, August 18, 2012
Sustainable Development and Politics
Sustainable Development. Any construction that can be maintained over time without damaging the environment; development balancing near-term interests with the protection of the interests of future generations.National Interest. A state's national interest is multi faceted.National interest is simply a states interest in its security and survival.In the modern world, however, it is considered to be a states ambition towards the growth of its economy, wealth, and power.Alternate Energy. The umbrella term that refers to any source of usable energy intended to replace fuel sources without the undesired consequences of the replaced fuels.The United States' undesired increase of dependency of oil from the Middle East coupled with the public's increased awareness of the negative environmental impact of fossil fuel emissions, has caused a public outcry for alternate sources of energy.In the wake of the turmoil in the middle-east and their love of their environment, Americans have sought alternate sources of energy.Through their impatient nature of and lack of skepticism, Americans have allowed themselves to be led to believe that ethanol is the solution that reduces our dependency of fossil fuel.What is also failed to be realized is the implications of ethanol.Ethanol production is very impractical and furthermore, it has caused a rise of inflation and food shortages.Our current methods for creating ethanol are as inefficient as they are detrimental to the environment.Currently, corn is the main source of ethanol.It is harvested and sold to ethanol plants where it is then broken down and fermented into ethyl alcohol.It is then mixed with gasoline, labeling it E-85, eighty-five percent ethanol and fifteen percent gasoline.What is often overlooked and unrealized is the actual amount of land and energy required to create ethanol.In order to make one gallon of ethanol, approximately twenty-six pounds of corn is required.One acre of land can produce 7,110 pounds of corn, which translates into 328 gallons of ethanol.With that in mind, one might ask, 'how much corn would it take to produce enough for the United States to be independent of imported fossil fuels?' Some researches estimate that if all available farmland was subsidized for ethanol production, there would only be enough to power about 4 percent of the United States' energy needs on a net basis.With the current technology used in ethanol production, it is impossible to completely become fossil fuel energy independent.Ethanol is not only impractical but is also very inefficient.It is widely debated as to whether ethanol, as a fuel, results in net gains in energy or losses.Most recent studies have shown that it takes more energy to produce it than is actually gained.When the energy associated with planting, fertilizing, maintenance, harvesting, transporting, and production are all taken into consideration; it takes roughly 1 unit of energy to produce .64 units of energy.So corn ethanol runs on only 64 percent efficiency.One must consider fuel sustainability when we lose 46 percent of the energy involved in production on a net basis.With so much corn demanded for the production of ethanol, the question of its effect on food supply and demand is raised.What does the future of the food supply and demand look like, given that the 'eviro-friendly' ethanol fuel is employed?Ethanol production is dramatically affecting not only the United States; it is affecting the entire world's food market.With the sudden spike in demand for corn, a result in ethanol production, prices in food have become very inflated.Milk prices have increased by over 200 percent, corn prices have quadrupled in one year causing starvation and unrest in many third world countries.Countries including Mexico, Indonesia, Yemen, and Egypt are all feeling the sting of shortages and high food prices.In Mexico, there were 'tortilla riots', a result of the high prices for corn flour.Mexico's poorest citizens diet consists mainly of tortillas.If the price increases of corn flour continues, malnourishment and starvation is certain to accelerate.Mexico's officials have tried to put a price cap on the price of corn flour but shopkeepers simply cannot maintain such low prices when the prices they par are so high.In other third world countries such as Egypt, food shortages have caused unrest and have nurtured Islamic radicalism.Does Ethanol help us with one problem or just create others? As more corn goes into ethanol production the necessity for land designated to corn growth will increase every year.To counter overproduction, maintain market balance and keep a healthy environment, the US government implemented a program called Conservation Reserve Program (commonly referred to as CRP) in the 1950's.CRP is a program that subsidizes land to reduce erosion, increase habitat for wildlife and stop over production of crops.The farmer agrees to let these subsidized areas grow into wild grass and plant reserves.The CRP program is very important to environmental enhancement in areas all over the United States, especially the mid-west.As the demand for ethanol increases, farmers will begin to search for ways to maximize they're production of corn.Corn requires a fall tillage which leaves the soil barren between October and June.In areas where ground is most vulnerable, such as steep inclines, CRP is planted to prevent erosion.An erosion experiment was conducted at the Rathburn Lake Watershed in Iowa.After converting approximately 29 percent of the most erosive land (approximately 4 percent of the entire lake's watershed) into row crops from CRP, an increase in erosion was very apparent.By replacing the CRP with row crops (corn is a row crop), the erosion increased by 204,000 tons of sediment per year.That was four times the government's acceptable level of annual erosion for Rathburn Lake's watershed.As the demand for cellulosic ethanol production increases, the affect on sustainable soil quality remains uncertain.Farming corn is very clean.After a harvest, there is little to no residual crops left.Therefore, in order for there to be any nutrients in the soil, farmers must inject pesticides and fertilizers into the soil in order to plant corn the following year.In addition to the increase of sediment flowing into water sources, the amount of chemicals comes into consideration.As a result of the increased amount of phosphorus at Lake Rathburn, an algae growth was stimulated in conjunction with the increase of sediment deposition.This spike in algae growth shortened the lifespan of the lake.As a consequence of the increase of pesticides and fertilizers such as nitrate, the water will become unsuitable for humans to drink and for aquatic life to live in.Exposed farmland sprayed with fertilizers and pesticides will wash pollutants into water sources potentially killing aquatic life and becoming toxic for humans to drink.In the city of Doon, where the city's water head is farmland, the nitrate levels exceeded legal limits by 10 to 40 percent.Furthermore, regarding water quality, waste after ethanol production, is very high in levels of contaminants.Any breach in a holding pond, waste system or cooling system could have a detrimental impact on nearby water on both aquatic life and water quality for humans.The method of disposing of these contaminated waters would be discharging them into water sources but in limited amounts.The aquatic organisms are not the only life forms at risk.Various birds and animals rely on the existence of clean water and CRP for their very survival.There have been proposals to completely eliminate the CRP program in Iowa.In some states, such as South Dakota and Iowa, CRP will be eliminated by up to 60 percent in the next year.The species particularly affected by this legislation is the Ring-Neck Pheasant.Iowa is currently one of the most sought after pheasant hunting destinations in United States.State wide, Iowa grosses over 90 million dollars annually from pheasant hunters.Pheasant hunting is an industry in rural parts of some states that many people depend on to make a living.The population of pheasants is expected to decline by 55 percent due to the loss of CRP habitat.Bird populations such as the Northern Harrier and the Henslow Sparrow are two other species that will be threatened should current CRP lands be significantly reduced.The effect that ethanol has on the environment are very unappealing.From an efficiency stand point, corn ethanol is not a viable option to replace fossil fuels.On the brighter side, new technologies on the not so distant horizon may enable us to switch to ethanol as an alternative fuel.Research and development have explored the possibility of obtaining ethanol from more efficient sources.One particular species that has gained a lot of attention is switch grass.Bio-genetic engineers have created a strain of switch grass that can grow up to 10 feet tall.The level of efficiency is far better than corn.Comparably, switch grass runs at 700 percent efficiency, superior to corn's 64 percent.There are other positive facts about switch grass that make it very appealing.Switch grass grows fast and it is not a 'row crop' like corn.Switch grass grows just like other prairie grasses, which would reduce the amount of erosion.Furthermore, switch grass provides much better cover and habitat for species such as the Ring Necked Pheasant.Switch grass is certainly another option that should be explored.There are several other sources of energy in development that may also decrease our dependency on fossil fuels as well.Wind energy, hydroelectric and hydrogen are all potentially environmental friendly alternate fuel sources.Hydrogen power is an energy source that has not been thoroughly explored, but could potentially be the cleanest and cheapest form of energy.Hydrogen is the most abundant resource on our planet.It can even be harvested from algae.Transforming hydrogen into a usable energy form is very difficult, dangerous and inefficient with the present technology.Hydrogen is still very far from being used as a fuel source.But with continued effort of technological advancement and further research, hydrogen could very well become a potential source for alternate energy.Concerning the topic of sustainability, corn ethanol is not a technique that should be employed as an alternate energy source.There is net energy loss when producing ethanol.If more energy is used in producing ethanol than is actually gained, then how can it be rationalized as an alternate energy source? Soil degradation will also become a major concern should corn ethanol production continue.As stated earlier, corn would be planted continuously, causing erosion and elevate the chemical contaminant levels in the environment.This would decrease the lifespan of many valuable water sources and destroy the environments that many species depend on.So as the United States moves toward ethanol, more land will be required to meet the quantity of corn demanded.This will decrease the land designated for soybean, rice, grains and livestock.Inevitably this shortage of food supply will inflate prices of food to the point where poorer people will no longer be able to afford them.This could cause unrest globally.Should we proceed with this strategy of corn ethanol as our alternate energy source, we could possibly degrade the soil to the point where we could no longer farm it, One must now ask, is ethanol really the answer to saving the environment and protecting our national interest? Or is it simply politicians pandering to a voting bloc?After weighing the gains and losses in of our national interest, it can be concluded that we would lose more than we will gain should we substitute corn ethanol for fossil fuels.First, I will lay out the gains should we commit to ethanol production.We could become energy independent, and no longer rely on the Middle East for oil.For this reason, many people endorse the idea of ethanol.We are currently at war with many Middle Eastern countries and on tense terms with several others.Should we have to commit to war with any other countries, we must have our own source of energy.The environment, in some ways, is a beneficiary to the ethanol switch.Ethanol burns far cleaner than any fossil fuel, leaving a much smaller carbon foot print.Engines run more efficiently and are often cleaned, reducing the amount of sludge buildup in the engine.These are some of the potential gains to our national interest should we switch to ethanol.In my opinion, the negative affects outweigh the gains.Ethanol is inefficient; it requires more energy to produce a unit of energy than is gained.It will cost more to produce the fuel than will be gained from it.Although fossil fuels run at about 84 percent efficiency, it still is better than the 64 percent efficiency of ethanol.Ethanol production will endanger or cause species to become extinct.This could create ecosystem problems by allowing certain species to proliferate while devastating others.Our soil quality will diminish, making it harder for future generations to sustain a high quality of life.If the demand for corn continues to rise, food shortages are imminent.It will inflate the cost of food and decrease the amount of available food world wide.It will make it harder for poorer Americans to pay for food.People could resort to crime as a way to survive.In other countries poorer people will no longer be able to afford food at such a high price, leading to starvation and malnourishment.So why should Americans care? As seen in Egypt, Yemen, Bangladesh, and even Mexico, food shortages cause unrest and a rise in radicalism.In Egypt, a rise in radicalism was noticed when the supply of corn was reduced and the price was increased.In Mexico, thousands of demonstrators rioted over the high price of corn flour.Impoverished people will resort to crime and revolt if that is what it takes to keep them fed.Ethanol is not the answer to our problems.It is in effect the grounds for more problems to surface and for existing problems to deteriorate even further.
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