Biofuels and the Fuel Shortage

Research Paper – Biofuels and the World Food Shortage The morning commute of many Americans includes stopping at the local convenience store or gas station to fill up their vehicle’s tank and grab a portable breakfast. In this seemingly normal and routine act these Americans are performing two daily functions that much of the world cannot, either because of shortages, government regulations, or a lack of assets by which to do so. The starving and malnourished children that are pictured in television commercials in an effort to persuade individuals to donate money towards helping the world’s hungry can be seen on network television daily but leaves one to ask, “How can the money I donate be used to help them if the food is not available to be purchased?” Moving on to the next crisis: the gasoline debacle. Gasoline prices seem to rise every day as we hear the platform of every politician running for office trying to explain how we can lower oil prices, reduce dependency on foreign oil, and eliminate greenhouse gases. If any one of these topics could be accomplished, the politician would get certainly get elected and rise to fame. Eliminating greenhouse gases may even slow climate changes that resulted in droughts and floods, which have prevented us from growing food in the past (Sachs, 2008). Who wouldn’t want that? The answers seem reasonable and almost simple; we need only grow and create more food to feed the world’s hungry. All we must do now is utilize our farming techniques, land, and agricultural efforts to produce more for harvest. If there is more food, then the price will fall as demand drops and it will become more readily available to all people. Problem solved, right? Then what of the gasoline woes? We need to reduce our emissions, oil use, and work domestically to fix this problem. Enter cleaner, safer, naturally grown, made in the USA ethanol. Ethanol can be used in place of gasoline, greatly reducing dependency of foreign oil, and