When you fill your tank, you likely see a little sticker on the pump saying part of the fuel is ethanol. Ethanol is a biofuel, which means it comes from plants like corn, rather than from fossil fuel — ancient carbon that’s been buried within the Earth for millions of years.
Every time I fill my gas tank, I see the notice on the pump that explains part of the fuel I’m buying is ethanol. Ethanol is alcohol, a type of biofuel rather than fossil fuel. While biofuels can be good to promote national energy independence and possibly help with greenhouse gas emissions, the ethanol in […]
I’m trained in geology, but I don’t work in the energy industry. That means I’m an interested bystander on the sidelines of the energy game, more eager than most to see the execution of the next play on the turf –but I’m not on one of the teams actually touching the ball. The people who […]
The Gulf oil spill has shown us just one of the downsides of petroleum. That makes the mind of even a geologist like me turn to several questions about the future. Could we Americans grow more of our own fuel – enough to run a number of our cars, trucks and airplanes? And, quite importantly, […]