Minnesota was the first state in the USA to pass a law requiring ethanol to be mixed with vehicle fuel. It has a large agricultural industry, so it was logical to tie its own industries with a fuel source that was thought to be environmentally positive. It environmental record on other matters is good – the state features fourth on the list of high producers of electricity from wind turbines.
In the past few years scientists studying ethanol production from corn reached the conclusion that when you take into account the whole life cycle, ethanol from corn actually produces more carbon dioxide than the normal process of refining oil. It is not surprising then, that scientists in Minnesota have been studying the environmental benefits of ethanol from agriculture. (more…)
Filed under: biodiversity, biofuels, carbon dioxide, carbon emissions, climate change, energy, global warming, oil | Tagged: amount of fuel that corn and soya could provide for USA, biofuel law, emission savings from biofuels, emissions released by soil, emissions savinsg from biofuels, ethanol from agriculture, fertilisers released by biofuels, minnesota, pesticides | 3 Comments »
