Bioethanol, a Potential Fuel Revolution

Bioethanol, a Potential Fuel Revolution Simply put, bioethanol is ethanol (alcohol) that is derived exclusively from the fermentation of plant starches. Though ethanol can be extracted as a byproduct from a chemical reaction with ethylene and other petroleum products, these sources are not considered renewable and therefore disqualify most ethanol from being considered bioethanol. Chemically, bioethanol is identical to ethanol and can be represented by either the formula C2H6O or C2H5OH. Really, bioethanol is a marketing term for the products that do not have immediate harm to the environment through burning and use of natural gas. It can be fermented from sugar cane, switchgrass, grains, and agricultural waste.   Environmental Benefits All fuel combustion- regardless of how eco-friendly it is- generates dangerous emissions that harm the earths atmosphere. However, the burning of ethanol, especially bioethanol, has far fewer emissions than gasoline or coal. For that reason, the burning of bioethanol, especially in vehicles that can use fuels derived from them, is much better for the environment than some other alternative fuel sources.   Ethanol, in general, reduces greenhouse emissions by up to 46% compared to gasoline, and the added bonus of bioethanol not relying on harmful chemical processing means it further minimizes the harmful effects of gasoline use. According to the United States Energy Information Administration,  unlike gasoline, pure ethanol is non-toxic and biodegradable, and it quickly breaks down into harmless substances if spilled. Still, no fuel combustion is good for the environment, but if you must drive a car for work or pleasure, perhaps consider switching to a flex-fuel vehicle capable of processing ethanol-gasoline blends. Other Types of Biofuel Biofuels can be broken down into five types: bioethanol, biodiesel, biogas, biobutanol, and biohydrogen. Like bioethanol, biodiesel is derived from plant matter. Specifically, the fatty acids in vegetable oils are used to create a powerful substitute through a process known as transesterification. In fact, McDonalds now converts much of its vegetable oil to biodiesel to reduce their companys large carbon footprint. Cows actually produce methane in such large amounts in their burps that theyre one of the largest contributors to emissions in the natural world- impacted significantly by commercial farming. Methane is a type of biogas which is produced during digestion of biomass or the burning of wood (pyrolysis). Sewage and manure can also be used to create biogas! Biobutanol and biohydrogen  are both yielded through biological means of further breaking down butanol and hydrogen from the same materials as bioethanol and biogas. These fuels are common replacements for their synthetic or chemically engineered, more harmful counterparts.

American Ownership of Canada essays

American Ownership of Canada essays In 1867 Canada was heading down the road of autonomy, in 1931 Canada gained further independence from the empire by negotiating and signing the Treaty of Westminster. But within a period of a few short years of moving away from one empire we just backed into another one. As many of us know today Canada is known to many as an American satellite state. How did this happen, how did a country looking to gain greater autonomy end up having the greatest amount of foreign ownership then any other industrial country in the world. I will examine the early history of the relationship between Canada and America and examine some of the key events that bound Canada to the United States. I will mainly cover the years 1930 to the cold war era and examine what impact the close relationship has had on Canada and how the different authors feel this has affected Canadians today. When the 1930s came around the Canadian economy took a downward spiral. It was not unusual in a capitalist economy to experience short, sharp fluctuation in the economy but this time it was different (Norrie and Owram 353). By this time Canada was already dependent on the U.S, as a large part of its exports depended on the United States. Canadas share of the new economic era was created by a resource boom that was inspired by demand in the United States, now with no demand the economic situation wasnt looking good for Canada (Thompson and Randall 109). By the time the 30s came to a close things werent looking to get any better as another World War was on the brink. The situation in 1940 looked pretty bleak in terms of Canadas position in the Second World War, both in the defence of Britain and in the defence of Canadian soil itself. The Canadian Prime Minister, William Lyon Mackenzie King, had two choices, either continue to support the British cause and hope for the best, or look f or an ally to who would be willing to defend both Canada and ...

Proposal Argument (a problem that relates to your local community or Essay

Proposal Argument (a problem that relates to your local community or college campus and that you can provide a reasonable solution to) - Essay Example Core classes at ASU have a description that relates the competencies of the course and introduces the student to that subject as it is deemed a core competency for educated individuals. However, evolution has placed the economy in a turbulence that has redirected everything from education, to work and even the way the home is being operated. There is a shift in the way that business and home are functioning and this shift has to be prepared for on every level of life including the educational level. Although big business is one way of webbing the world together, it is a huge slice of the problem existing on an international scale in the business and well as the private sector. It is no secret that big business provide jobs, however they also slash the body of the economy with a gash that can not be mended with stitches or sutures. For example, examine the impact that a mega store such as Walmart has on a local economy. While it does provide convenient shopping, which in turn can provide cheaper prices, it is conglomerated of several small businesses which stifle the small business sector rendering the small business sector unable to compete. Along with knocking the small business out of the competitive ranks, it also provide jobs that may pay less than their counterpart small business would pay their employees which hurts the economy as well. According to the article, Wal-mart and County Wide Poverty by Stephen J. Goetz and Hema Swaminathan the low wages that Walmart pay their employees only contribute to the poverty level of that county in which that Walmart is located (3). Big business is the current wave of the economy and educational institutions must identify how to compete against big business and provide learning tools to spark the entrepreneur sector to fire up small business. Along with the return of small business, there should be a fundamental understanding that the inter-connected global economy is the wave of the future so there