Since the production of ethanol causes a lot of environmental pollution and is a potential threat to ethanol's viability as being considered a renewable bio-fuel, the simplest way of eliminating the harmful pollution in its production would be simply cutting out the production of ethanol itself. Of course, this would mean giving up on the use of ethanol altogether, which is not a very feasible option.
A Biofuel promoting both efficient land and energy use
Currently, a harmful "component" in the production of ethanol is its massive land usage. In fact, in order to produce ethanol, a large amount of agricultural corn fields are completely butchered solely for the purpose of producing ethanol. This type of land pollution is considered extremely damaging, and is a also a leading cause in deforestation and other land-damaging conversions. The harmful "component" from ethanol production comes when forests high in stored carbon and rich in biodiversity are converted into croplands solely for ethanol production. This actually results in much more global warming pollution than the amount that can be reduced by bio-fuels grown on that land.
In order to reduce this type harmful side effect, ethanol production should only be permitted when both land and energy can be used efficiently. For instance, producing ethanol from lands that are derived from agricultural, forest-product and municipal waste streams will leave much less environmental imprints than food-based production, from a land-use perspective. Also, the use of bio-energy crops that improve lands that are currently considered unsuitable for agriculture is also a good bet in minimizing cultivable land use.
In order to reduce this type harmful side effect, ethanol production should only be permitted when both land and energy can be used efficiently. For instance, producing ethanol from lands that are derived from agricultural, forest-product and municipal waste streams will leave much less environmental imprints than food-based production, from a land-use perspective. Also, the use of bio-energy crops that improve lands that are currently considered unsuitable for agriculture is also a good bet in minimizing cultivable land use.
Raising global AWARENESS to reduce the production of harmful components
Furthermore, additional funding should be directed to areas of research that can improve our ability to measure land-use changes globally. For instance, satellite and aerial imagery can be used to accurately and objectively measure changes in land use and estimate the impacts of carbon, nitrogen, and methane cycling, as well as carbon sequestration. This type of modeling will also impact land-use decisions for ethanol production worldwide, whilst at once also being critical to the biofuel's life cycle accounting and climate policy. This research will be able to be used to show the world how bad ethanol production can affect food prices and availability, global warming pollution, deforestation, nutrient runoff, water use, and other outcomes. As a matter of fact, only by raising global awareness can other countries start to realize the destruction caused by ethanol production, and start to reduce and change the manner in which they produce ethanol. Hopefully, by realizing their mistakes, countries will start to eliminate any removable harmful components to their ethanol production processes.
recycling wasted resources to produce biofuel
In order to reduce the harmful components derived from ethanol production, biofuels derived from many resources can play a role in reducing global warming pollution. Based on current estimates, 300 million tons of biomass can be obtained from waste products such as agricultural residues, forestry residues, and municipal and construction waste. Thus, we can in fact recycle much of our unused biological residues to produce ethanol fuel. However, any significant expansion beyond this level should require a sound scientific determination that the required volume of biomass can be produced in a sustainable manner.
Consequently, bio-fuel production would have to compete for biomass fairly with electrical power generation, chemical production, and traditional agricultural uses such as food, feed, and fiber. Unexploited biomass production systems such as forests and prairies also play an important role in supporting needed ecosystem services such as water purification, biodiversity, and recreation. If we these resources are overused to make fuel, we risk transforming a potential solution to our fuel challenges into a major problem for food supplies and ecosystem services. Thus, in order to reduce the harmful effects of ethanol production, we need to ensure that renewable resource policies account for these risks and strike the right balance.
Consequently, bio-fuel production would have to compete for biomass fairly with electrical power generation, chemical production, and traditional agricultural uses such as food, feed, and fiber. Unexploited biomass production systems such as forests and prairies also play an important role in supporting needed ecosystem services such as water purification, biodiversity, and recreation. If we these resources are overused to make fuel, we risk transforming a potential solution to our fuel challenges into a major problem for food supplies and ecosystem services. Thus, in order to reduce the harmful effects of ethanol production, we need to ensure that renewable resource policies account for these risks and strike the right balance.