Ethanol is already replacing millions of barrels of imported petroleum. That's petroleum that could have ended up in our environment, devastating coastal industries, ecosystems and communities.
Environment
By now, we all know that something needs to be done to protect our environment, not just for future generations, but also for sustainability within our own lifetimes. The burning of fossil fuels needs to be minimized - and ethanol is already helping to do that.
In a recent study published in the Journal of Industrial Ecology, corn ethanol was found to decrease greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 59 percent over gasoline. Cellulosic ethanol is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 87 percent. And unlike oil, ethanol from any source has a positive net energy balance - meaning it gives more energy than is needed to produce it.
In fact, according to Argonne National Laboratory ethanol reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 23 million metric tons in 2010. Imagine if we were using more ethanol in our motor fuels.
Ethanol is already replacing millions of barrels of imported petroleum. That's petroleum that could have ended up in our environment, devastating coastal industries, ecosystems and communities. Ethanol is clean burning, renewable, and it's grown right here in America.
The EPA estimates that higher Renewable Fuel Standards will reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions from transportation by a total of 6.8 billion tons CO2 equivalent when measured over a 100-year timeframe. This is the equivalent of approximately 160 million tons CO2 equivalent per year. The overall reductions would be like removing 24 million vehicles from the road.
Read our Introduction to Ethanol FAQ brochure, which includes information on the environment.
Look up environment-related press releases.
Search our research and reports for environment-related material.
