Ethanol

In an article in the Oil & Gas Journal (2007) entitled “Increased US ethanol production requires dedicated pipelines” the author points out that if we want to use ethanol as an alternative energy, there are several problems we have to figure out. According to this article, he mentions that the US ethanol output soared more than 30% between 2005 and 2006. Also, he states that there are several ways to transport ethanol fuel from manufacturers to consumers, but pipelines are the best way to transport it. However, he argues that transporting ethanol in pipelines is not an easy thing to control. Therefore, he says that we need to create a new ethanol infrastructure to provide enough energy.

Apparently, the author’s idea is correct in this article. As the price of oil goes high and the crude oil goes down, we need to find an alternative to replace oil as soon as possible. Although he cites some problems about transporting ethanol, it is worthwhile that we spend a lot of time finding an alternative because we have only one earth.

Firstly, as time goes by, there will be more and more people living in this world, but there will be less and less energy which we can use. With respect to oil, wherever we go at any time, we drive a car or take a public transportation, the one thing that makes it work is oil. However, there is not any natural resource which we can use forever. If we still consume oil like the way we used to, soon the way we live will be totally different. So, it is better that we use ethanol as an alternative.

Secondly, there are more and more countries which use ethanol to replace oil, especially the US. And their consumption of oil keeps reaching a significant high amount. Also, if in the future they still rely on ethanol as an alternative of oil more and more, they have to figure out to how to keep ethanol in a good condition, because there is a lot of work to do.

In conclusion, using ethanol might cost a lot of money to control, but natural resources such as oil are worthless. So, we should try to substitute ethanol for oil.

References
Oil & Gas Journal. (2007, September 17). Increased US ethanol production requires dedicated pipelines. Retrieved July 7, 2008, from Lexis Nexis database.