This growth has attracted the attention of major industry leaders such as General Electric and Cascade Investment LLC, which has invested $84 million into Pacific Ethanol.
Despite the favorable outlook and the generally accepted need for renewable energy sources, there are those who are opposed to the source for several reasons. According to Lewis, for example, even while the growing ethanol market may be providing an increase in job opportunities, income is taken away from working families within the oil industry. Obviously therefore, the oil industry and its affiliates will be in opposition to the growing use and mandates for ethanol. Furthermore, the claim is that the ethanol market is dominated by a few giant producers such as Archer Daniels Midland. This is neither a fair distribution of the income from the new market, nor a fair distribution of jobs. The argument related to this is that the existing fuel industry wealth is transferred from honest, hardworking smaller businesses to a number of huge producers, rather than increased.
In terms of economics, federal opposition to the market claims that, while the overall production cost of fuel is lowered by ethanol, there is nonetheless an increase in gas tax, which affects the consumer unfavorably. Projected gas prices will then increase by 9.6, 7.1 and 4.0 cents per gallon in California,...
An acre of corn will yield roughly 5,500 dry pounds of stover, enough to produce about 180 gallons of ethanol" (Baker & Zanier 2006). But once again, such intensive farming methods could result in depletion of the soil and ultimately hamper the fertility of the soil, given that corn stover is usually left on fields to minimize erosion. Ideally, the creation of new technology would improve productivity without hampering
4). Likewise, in the same article, Kay Martin of the Ventura County, California public works agency is quoted as saying, "From a macroeconomics or macro-environmental perspective, it just makes sense." The need to build an infrastructure for production of bio-fuels creates economic opportunities. Of course, not everybody is so enthusiastic. To grow corn, diesel tractors are required to plant, fertilize and harvest it with substantial coal-fired electricity needed for the
In addition, large quantities of natural gas are required to produce fertilizers which are needed for growing corn. It is estimated that an average of 135 pounds of nitrogen (a potent-greenhouse-gas) per acre is used in growing corn in most U.S. farms. Besides, research by the U.S. Department for Agriculture (USDA) shows that tilled soil releases carbon dioxide gas into the atmosphere in proportion to the volume of soil
This helps to establish the case that a gap exists between that which science accepts about biofuels and that which politicians present on the subject. This is complimented by Thornton's (2006) concise detraction of ethanol, this article serves as reinforcement for the recurring case that the process of yielding energy from ethanol is too consuming of time and energy, and thus, should be disregarded as a means to developing an
For an industry that is fast becoming a verifiable and sustainable model of energy development, the labor that supplies the demand will likely get its fair share of attention (Goldemberg, 2007). On the marketing end of the industry, there is the automobile manufacturing boom of flex cars, and the new multi-billion dollar deals between the largest ethanol producer in Brazil, Cosan Limited, and Royal Dutch Shell. The most recent joint
2007 Economic Crisis on American Car market Effect of the 2008 global economic crisis on automotive industries Crisis in the United States Crisis in Canada Crisis in Russia Crisis in European markets Crisis in Asian markets Effects by other related crisis events In this paper, we will review the effects of 2008 global automotive crisis. Our main focus will be on the American car manufacturers and the negative impact they suffered due to the crisis. We will
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