Alternative To Fossil FuelsEssay Preview: Alternative To Fossil FuelsReport this essayAlternatives to DestructionGas prices got you down? They should. However, the rise in petroleum prices is the least of my worries. Our nations supply of fossil fuels is running out and were doing more damage to our environment than humanly reversible. Now its time for the good news, there are alternatives and loads of them. Legislation from federal and state governments along with biofuels are constantly being introduced and researched to the betterment of the environment. These alternatives are hoping to make the world we live in a healthy and safe environment for generations to come.
According to the International Journal of Hydrogen Energy two crisis are arising from the use of fossil fuels; we are rapidly depleting our sources with no way to replace them, and through that rapid use we are producing toxic by-products into our environment (Das 1). Something must be done. Fortunately the Environmental Protection Agency, the EPA, works diligently with the legislative branch of our government to enact laws that protect our environment and petition congress for money to fund alternative fuel research (“Renewable Fuels”). Currently the EPA is fighting to regulate the benzene levels in gasoline by calling for legislation that pushes the levels of benzene lower than they have even been before (“Renewable Fuels”). Benzene has been found to be one of the leading reasons why the burn off of gasoline is so toxic to our environment. However, the money is never enough and once enacted, even less money is spent to enforce these laws. The states often find themselves with the burden of drafting new laws that fit their budget or by enforcing cutbacks to find the money to enforce these laws themselves, making funding an issue. Focusing on Georgia, I am proud to say that according to the US Department of Energy webpage, Georgia has in place an Alternative Fuels Use and Alternative Fuel Vehicle (AFV) Acquisition Requirement which stipulates that all state owned vehicles should try to use blended gas or switch to Alternative Fuel Vehicles (“Georgia Incentives” 1), which use electricity, hydrogen, ethanol, natural gas, biodiesel, methanol, or p-series fuel to propel the vehicle (“Alternative Fuels” 1). However there is one catch to that requirement, one loophole. It also states that the department should only do what can fit within the realms of their budget, calling funding once again into question. Therefore, not enough money leaves us no change and right back to where we started, ruining our environment. Georgia also has in effect the Ride-n-Share program. This program opened up parking lots along interstate exits for commuters to meet and carpool to work. In Atlanta, HOV lanes were opened to allow people who car-pool a quick and easy route to work with less traffic. Yet, these easy methods were rarely used. If our environment is such a big deal, why dont we do more to save it?
Sure, were fine for the next 20 years or so, but if we wait that long to try and invent new methods for fuel efficiency, our environment and economy will experience the consequences. In essence, we will suffer in the long run. There are ways to slow the rate of depletion, giving the economy just what it needs, more time. Car-pooling, public transportation, vehicles with electric power or high gas mileage (no SUVs), and ethanol (E10) blended fuels are all an affordable and easy method to slow our dependence on fossil fuels. One click on the American Coalition for Ethanol website caused me to question our governments efforts against our fuel crisis. Ethanol is an additive to gasoline than can be made from corn, grain sorghum, wheat, barley, potatoes, and even sugarcane (How Is Ethanol Made? 1). Ethanol is blended with gasoline (up to 10%) and can be added to any vehicle and covered by the manufacturers warranty (“Using Ethanol” 1). Blended with gasoline, ethanol does three things; makes fuel cheaper, make the engine run cooler therefore causing less problems, and “increases the fuels octane rating” (“What is Ethanol?” 1). There is only one problem, finding a suitable and convenient ethanol fuel station.
Here is when the federal government should step in, and thanks to our friends working with the Environmental Protection Agency congress is moving in the right direction. According to the Alternative Energy Refueling Systems Act of 2007, the AERSA, which is currently being introduced as legislation to congress, the federal government will assist these establishments with federal grants of up to $30,000 (“Alternative Energy” 1). With the AERSA in effect, money would no longer be an issue to make ethanol accessible and affordable. Switching to 10% ethanol in gasoline is a way to slow down the fossil fuel use in order to allow us more time to find even cheaper and more accessible
The Alternative Energy Act also allows the Department of Energy a waiver to develop a national renewable energy portfolio on behalf of our customers, so that they are able to buy clean energy with less environmental cost and cost volatility.
When this bill first went to the Federal Advisory Committee of the House of Representatives in May 2014, the energy industry was quick to oppose it. This was because after receiving all of the above, and before going to the committee and even having their approval required, industry executives were convinced that it was not worth working on and thus refused to listen. These were their actions because they were so happy to see that Trump wanted to make big financial decisions like these on the environment. They were happy to hear that Trump was the only person to seriously think about this issue, but they were not happy to listen. They wanted the green light to the bill to take advantage of the industry concerns and their desire to be a part of it. The Energy Dept. felt that they had a good argument from a business perspective, so they didn’t push the bill, but rather wanted to use it with no opposition.
Some time after then and after this, the AERSA that was being considered by the Committee began showing up and in May of 2015 voted NO on the NRDC National Renewable Energy Plan for 2020. These reports show that the energy industry was disappointed and, as it turned out, that there was less support for the bill at the time from legislators and the energy lobbyists and lobbyists of the big fossil fuel companies.
According to them, the AERSA “cannot and will not be signed into law, and it will not be considered later in this legislative session.”
This lack of support and opposition has been seen in ways that are clearly visible in the new administration. In May of last year, after nearly 11 years of Obama-inspired pushback, there were multiple reports of a “repeal and replace” bill that failed to pass both the House/Senate and the Administration. This could be directly linked to other problems that took years for other states (such as Oklahoma and Nebraska failing to pass the plan, despite major government programs and financial support from their own state’s legislators. [1]). In the absence of this new report, which we have been tracking for three months, we now know that it is still unclear about and likely still under consideration in the Senate.
By June of that year, two Republicans on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee were reprising their roles as the Chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee – a position which we believe is crucial to the progress of energy reform and is why we have begun this campaign to