Corn Ethanol Pros And Cons

This paper reviews articles that report on research and studies of the effect of increased use of corn ethanol on our country and global warming in the United States. When first introduced the production of ethanol from corn was a very popular idea. This favored alternative was meant to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, bring about energy independence, to raise the income of farmers, and to produce more rural employment. Recently, however, corn ethanol has been the topic of heated debate on whether or not it truly does fulfill these goals. This paper will explore some of the different arguments for and against it. In one article, it is argued that corn ethanol is quite beneficial in certain aspects such as energy security and job impact, while …show more content…
Mercola’s (2013) article reviews corn ethanol and its relationship with the environment and how it impacts it since in 2007, Congress made it a requirement to have gasoline that is mixed with ethanol, in an attempt to reduce the United States’ dependence on foreign oil. When this was researched, it was found that a higher demand for corn led farmers to destroy untapped land and turn it into planting grounds. This led to the need for more fertilizer, “increasing the use of nitrogen fertilizers by more than one billion pounds” (Dr. Mercola, 2013). The rise in nitrogen fertilizer use caused an increase in water pollution, and agricultural irrigation also plays a role in limiting our freshwater. The increase in fertilizer has also caused dead zones, leaving contaminated river water no longer able to hold aquatic life. There is a negative impact here when looking at the domino effect that corn ethanol has had on the environment. The more acres that were used to create corn led for the need of more soil which caused the unnecessary destruction of more top soil and contributed the waste of our even now limited water supply (Dr. Mercola, …show more content…
This is because corn will grow year after year and will continue to contribute as biofuel. The corn ethanol will also not leave the environmental footprint behind that gasoline does and emits less carbon dioxide, which could help put an end to global warming. This, however, still leads to environmental issues because, though corn ethanol is better for the environment than gasoline, the process to make ethanol from the corn is not. According to this article it takes a gallon and a half of gasoline to produce one gallon of ethanol (Hutton, 2011). This shows that there definitely is potential with much room to grow, but for now corn ethanol is not the