Calls for Dramatic Increase in Plug-in Hybrid Technology;
Paints Grim Picture for Corn Ethanol
Many alternative fuels designed to wean America off of oil will cause a whole host of other problems and increase global warming emissions, according to a report released today by Environment Iowa. The report cites liquid coal, corn ethanol and soy biodiesel as the worst examples; all of which have 50% - 100% greater relative emissions than conventional gasoline. The report shows that the best solution to lowering emissions from vehicles is to combine the approaches that offer the greatest environmental benefits. For example, an efficient plug-in hybrid vehicle operating on electricity and cellulosic ethanol made from crop residue has emissions that are at least 70% lower than gasoline.
“Today’s headlines are telling us that we must move away from oil as a transportation fuel,” said Andrew Hug of Environment Iowa. “However, we cannot afford to make other problems worse in our quest to reduce our dependence on oil,” he added.
The report; Beyond Oil: The Transportation Fuels That Can Help Reduce Global Warming, evaluates the leading contenders in the alternative fuels race, with a specific focus on their impact on global warming and the environment. Key findings include:
- Liquid Coal Fuel - Liquid produced from coal creates at least 80 percent more global warming pollution than gasoline. The fuel starts with a high-carbon energy source and requires heavy processing.
- Corn Ethanol - High-volume corn ethanol production does not result in lower global warming emissions than gasoline. In fact, full life-cycle emissions from corn ethanol may be twice as high as gasoline, when secondary land-use impacts are taken into account. The increased production of corn ethanol has also caused a host of other problems including water pollution and competition for cropland used for food.
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Biodiesel - Biodiesel from soybeans, the most common feedstock for biodiesel, is at least 50 percent more polluting than conventional diesel and, like corn ethanol, can cause many other problems associated with high intensity agriculture. The report also found that life-cycle global warming pollution emissions from biodiesel can be as much as 98 percent less than conventional diesel, if the diesel is made from waste cooking oil.
- Natural gas - reduces air pollution and global warming pollution compared with gasoline vehicles. But natural gas fueling infrastructure is expensive and domestic supplies of natural gas are both finite and increasingly constrained.
- Hydrogen - has long been touted as the transportation fuel of the future. But the environmental impacts of hydrogen depend greatly on how it is produced, and hydrogen-powered vehicles are still a long way from being available to American consumers.
- Electricity - Plug-in hybrids and all-electric vehicles - Because electric motors are far more efficient than internal combustion engines, vehicles that use electricity almost always produce less global warming pollution than gasoline vehicles, even when the electricity used to fuel them is generated from coal. Plug in hybrids powered by the average U.S. electricity mix are 50% less polluting than gasoline. The benefits are far greater when vehicles are fueled with renewably-generated electricity.
- Cellulosic Ethanol - Producing cellulosic ethanol from certain feedstocks can reduce global warming pollution. Cellulosic ethanol made from crop residue, or from prairie grass grown on abandoned or marginal cropland can have emissions well below that of gasoline.
“As the race for alternative fuels accelerates, we must encourage the development of new options that reduce global warming and avoid severe environmental impacts,” concluded Hug. “We need to put the brakes on the rush to corn ethanol and environmentally harmful liquid coal technologies and move toward 21st century technologies like plug-in hybrids and other fuels that do not create as many problems as they solve,” he added.
The report makes a number of recommendations to local state and federal policymakers for achieving large reductions in global warming pollution from cars and light trucks and reducing our oil dependence; including:
- Adopting requirements to lower the carbon content of transportation fuels; including amending the recently passed federal renewable fuels standard to require that all ethanol sold be subject to a low carbon fuel standard.
- Rejecting policies that promote or subsidize fuels that would make the problem worse.
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Requiring that by 2020, all new vehicles are capable of using lower carbon fuels, whether electricity or bio-fuels.
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Supporting additional research into the agronomics of cellulosic feedstocks and into technologies for converting cellulosic feedstocks, especially residue, into fuel.
- Improving vehicle fuel economy and pursuing measures to reduce total driving. These measures would further cut global warming emissions and reduce our vulnerability to rapid changes in the global petroleum market.
“By committing to an approach that combines the best technologies, the cleanest fuels, and that sets rigorous environmental standards for alternative fuels, America can improve its energy security, while cutting global warming pollution and protecting our environment,” said Hug. “One thing is clear: America has little time to lose in addressing these challenges. And we cannot afford false starts.”
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Environment Iowa is a statewide, nonprofit environmental advocacy organization.
