Can An Ethanol Company Really Help Save The Planet?

Over the years, discussions about the role of ethanol companies in saving the environment have been ranging. A lot of environmentalists insist that ethanol companies are very important to help reduce the impact of global warming.

According to many environmentalists, ethanol energy is less harmful to the environment compared to fossil fuel. The pollution emitted by engines that are using ethanol fuel is very much less compared to the pollution emitted by engines that are using fossil fuels. Various studies have been conducted to prove the fact that ethanol is indeed more environment friendly.

Although ethanol production is considered as environment friendly, not many governments all over the world are really endorsing the production of ethanol. In fact, there are some countries around the world that limit the number of ethanol companies in their territories.

No, these countries that limit the number of ethanol companies in their territories are not necessarily supporters of the fossil fuel or oil cartel. You see, there are a lot of arguments posted against the production of ethanol fuel and some of these arguments are actually valid. To help us understand why there are some countries that are reluctant to embrace the idea of ethanol production in their territories, let us take at look at the arguments against ethanol companies.

Arguments Against Ethanol Companies

Despite the fact that many environmentalists all over the world are endorsing the use of ethanol fuel and are support many ethanol companies, not all people are really happy about the idea of ethanol fuel production. A lot of people are concerned that ethanol production could deplete the food supply around the globe further.

Note that to produce ethanol from corn, sugarcane and other plant based products, these big ethanol companies need to plants acres and acres of land. For instance, if the company uses corn for fuel production, it will need acres and acres of land to produce enough corn to sustain its production. This means that a large portion of land which ought to be used for human food production becomes inaccessible for that purpose. Countries that have limited agricultural lands cannot sustain the needs of these ethanol companies.

Since ethanol companies need to have plenty of raw materials to process, it will demand extensive farming or corn and other plants. To increase production, farmers will now apply large amounts of fertilizer and growth enhancers into the soil. The large amount of fertilizers and growth enhancers can pollute the soil and may even pollute the ground water reserves of the area.