Much Ado About Ethanol

Last week, President Bush announced in his State of the Union address that the United States is "addicted to oil." This realization comes not a moment too soon, as a peak in global oil production may be on the horizon, according to experts featured in this month's Peak Oil issue of World Watch magazine.

Luckily, there are alternatives. Biofuels, particularly ethanol, may be part of the answer. By fermenting plant material into ethanol, the U.S. and other oil-guzzling nations could grow a much larger share of their fuel domestically, offering them an opportunity to dramatically reduce reliance on oil imports and mitigate the release of carbon into the atmosphere. (See State of the World 2006, Chapter 4: Cultivating Renewable Alternatives to Oil.) As Worldwatch biofuels project manager Suzanne Hunt notes in a recent Reuters article, the biggest potential for large-scale production lies in cellulosic ethanol technologies—ethanol made from agricultural, forestry, and municipal wastes, not food crops.

This spring, Worldwatch will launch its landmark report, "Biofuels for Transportation: Global Potential and Implications for Sustainable Agriculture and Energy in the 21st Century." The study—developed in cooperation with the German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ) and the Agency for Renewable Resources (FNR), with funding from the German Ministry for Consumer Protection, Food and Agriculture (BMELV)—is being conducted by an international group of experts and explores the potential of biofuels as a major fuel source in the 21st century.

For statistics on ethanol production worldwide, download the Worldwatch Global Trend, World Ethanol Production, 1980-2004, for only $1.00!

Source: http://www.worldwatch.org/index.php