Fossil fuels, which include natural gas, petroleum, and coal, are extracted from the underground remains of organic material that is often several million years old. A biofuel is any fuel produced using plant-based materials, such as corn-based ethanol.

Because fossil fuels are so environmentally hazardous and expensive to extract, ethanol has been purported to be a more accessible and relatively green alternative to gasoline and has been mixed into gasoline as an additive in huge quantities.

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The carbon footprint of ethanol production

While you certainly don’t have to wait several million years to get the organic material needed to make ethanol, its production still results in massive amounts of carbon emissions. From the cultivation of the corn itself to the processing and combustion of ethanol, the environmental hazards of ethanol production are manyfold.

USDA

study from 2019, which has oft been cited by the biofuel industry itself, concluded that ethanol was 39% less carbon-intensive than gasoline, but the study failed to consider the environmental impact of land use.

According to the new study reported by

Reuters

, which was in part funded by the National Wildlife Federation and the U.S. Department of Energy, ethanol production could be up to 24% more carbon-intensive than gasoline.

Interestingly enough, the high demand for ethanol comes from a 2005 mandate enacted by the U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard law which required U.S. oil refiners to mix gasoline with 15 billion gallons of corn-based ethanol annually.

As a result, corn cultivation expanded to take up 6.9 million additional acres of U.S. soil from 2008 to 2016. Under different circumstances, some of this land would have been retired or restored via conservation programs.

MORE: Formula 1 Cars Will Soon Be Powered by Sustainable Fuel

What does this mean for the future of ethanol?

With this new information in mind, the U.S. Environmental Protections Agency (EPA) is rethinking the terms of the U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard law.

Currently, the requirements to blend ethanol into gasoline will be in place through the end of 2022, but as of yet, there are no reforms that have been proposed.

The EPA has plans to submit new stipulations to the mandates in May of 2022, which could mean big changes for the ethanol industry. These new proposals are part of a broader effort by the Biden administration to drastically reduce carbon emissions in the U.S. by 2050.

This move away from ethanol is happening parallel to massive changes in the automotive world overall, as consumers and manufacturers alike seek out ways to lessen their environmental impact and slow the threat of climate change.

MORE:

Ocean Mining Has Harmful Environmental Costs

The automotive industry’s pivot to eco-friendly cars

Manufacturers may be moving away from relying on gasoline altogether, as more and more carmakers announce plans to go fully electric in the coming years.

Buying a new electric car

does come with some very alluring incentives including

tax credits

, and more and more consumers are choosing to go electric every day. But going green with your next auto doesn’t mean you’re also in for expensive monthly premiums and overpriced rates on car insurance.

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