Living Without Oil
As war looms, the search for new energy alternatives is all the more urgent
Second chance. After the 1970s oil crises, policymakers turned to what seemed at the time to have the most potential: ethanol. Corn alcohol hasn't exactly lived up to its promise. The 2.13 billion gallons of ethanol produced last year, up 20 percent from the previous year, still amounted to less than 2.6 percent of U.S. oil imports. More accurately called an additive than a replacement fuel, ethanol is typically mixed with 90 percent petroleum; an oxygenate, it boosts combustion and reduces tailpipe emissions.
But ethanol's green image has faded of late. Diesel tractors plant, fertilize, and harvest the corn used to make ethanol, and substantial coal-fired electricity is used to process the grain. Cornell University scientist David Pimentel, author of a study showing ethanol consumes more energy than it produces, calls it "unsustainable, subsidized food burning." Federal and state governments spend about $1 billion a year to support ethanol, most of which goes to agribusiness giants like Archer Daniels Midland, which owns 35 percent of the market.
But the ethanol industry could be transformed by biotechnology. Researchers can now unlock the sugars found in tough agricultural waste products--corn husks, rice hulls, saw grass, and wood chips--which can then be fermented into an alcohol that can fuel vehicles. This so-called cellulosic, or biomass, ethanol would require less energy to produce and could be manufactured from material that is now burned or buried. Getting biomass ethanol from the laboratory to the highway has been slow. BC International of Dedham, Mass., which plans to build a plant in Louisiana to convert sugar cane waste into fuel, is having a hard time getting $90 million to build the refinery. "It's a combination of the economy and the fact that it's the first of its kind," says Vice President John Doyle. "Bankers and investors love to say, `Where is one of these running?' "
The Department of Energy has supported biomass ethanol research and development, announcing $75 million in grants in December. Recipients include Cargill Dow and DuPont, which have successfully used biotech to convert corn into packaging materials, plastics, and synthetic fibers like those now made from petroleum. "The government has a role in helping to defray some of the risk" if the nation wants faster development of cellulosic ethanol, says Pat Gruber, vice president of Cargill Dow. "Many plants never work or take years to work. It's a scary thing from an investment standpoint," says Gruber. But the Bush administration's new budget would reduce biomass ethanol funding, leaving the private sector to lead future development.
Until true oil replacements can make a dent in the market, many argue that the government should focus on reducing consumption by requiring automakers to build more fuel-efficient cars. The Sierra Club calculates that if the vehicle fuel economy average of 20.8 mpg were raised to 40 mpg, it would save upwards of 3 million barrels of oil a day. "The technology is out there, but the government needs to give the automakers a very clear signal," says David Friedman of the Union of Concerned Scientists. Still, carmakers say that consumers don't want the smaller cars that higher standards would entail. And at an Alliance to Save Energy conclave last fall, Karen Knutson, a top aide to Vice President Cheney, cited studies showing that smaller cars are more hazardous: "Every mile per gallon saved kills lives," she said, eliciting hissing from the audience. Fuel-efficiency advocates say carmakers would not have to downsize but could install new technologies that could make even SUVs, which have their own safety concerns, more efficient. Greater savings can be reached if more manufacturers produced, and more consumers drove, the hybrid gasoline-electric engines pioneered by Honda and Toyota.
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