What are bio-fuels?

-We define biofuels as the sources of energy that come from living, renewable sources. Biofuels consists of organic material such as crops, trees and even animal manure. In recent years biofuels have come to mean specific fuels like ethanol or biodiesel. These kind of fuels can be burned in engines to drive vehicles instead of fossil fuels. Petroleum and diesel, the everyday fossil fuels that the world depends on, are known to be soon depleted and cause long-term harms to our environment. In contrast, ethanol can be made from a variety of crops, such as maize or sugarcane, being eco-friendly. Biodiesel, another biofuel, is often made from soya, rapeseed, or palm oil.

What is so special about bio-fuels?

-Biofuels were not always accentuated in terms of environmental conservation. In the past biofuels have not given much attention, nor interest by developers and common citizens. In the current status quo, however, this image is rapidly changing. Number one, as the price of oil has soared in the past few years, people are finding it harder to fulfill their oil supplies. Secondly, as time passed, biofuel production methods have continuously improved. The price gap between normal fossil fuels and biofuels has narrowed considerably. (Although matters of subsidy are a significant part of the equation? ) These fuels are also capable of reducing carbon emissions, so they will be able to tackle climate change throughout the globe.

Should The Government Be Actively Subsidizing Bio-Fuels?

1.    Yes, we believe that the government should actively subsidize bio-fuels

a)            What is so different and promising about bio-fuels? To begin with, bio-fuels are a promising alternative energy product which is both environmentally friendly and efficient. Biofuel can be used in our everyday lives, such as powering means of transportation like cars. When conventional fossil fuels are depleting and their prices rising heavily, it is becoming harder to fulfill the demands of the public. At the same time, these fuels are harming the environment, and the government has the obligation to make changes to our energy system. People ought to be able to transit more swiftly into a cleaner society. We believe that actively subsidizing alternative energies is a way to solve all these problems at once. Also, we argue that considering the long term effects to the society, it is the government?s responsibility to be involved.

b)            We hear in the news every day that new biofuels being developed. Still, if these biofuels were so successful, why are they not appearing frequently in our markets? One reason why biofuels are currently not as successful as conventional oil is because oil already holds a secure position within our economy. Fossil fuels enjoy a market and technology structure that is continuously dependent on oil supplies. Most cars do not run on biofuels in the first place, and consequently, there are not many gas and oil stations that supply bio fuels. Furthermore, big oil enjoys a monopoly on various sectors or sections of the economy. In this sense, biofuels cannot compete against such a well-established energy system. Of course, unless the government decides to provide aids in their initial establishment.

c)            On top of that, subsidizing biofuel methods provides endless benefits to every part of the society. First off, it will help the farmers who will have to produce crops needed for biofuels. As the demand for biofuels increase, farmers will be eager to produce more crops that are in dire need. Companies will buy the crops from the farmers, who will be able to spend their time harvesting more crops. Even crops that were not at a competitive edge before can be developed to be fit into the biofuel process. Also, investing in biofuels will ensure that they develop and become more efficient at a faster rate. Without such financial or expertise investigation, developers would find it difficult to increase production quantities at that rate. Lastly, the biofuel investment will help prevent biofuel companies from being bought by big oil companies. Many big oil companies in the current status quo are compromising with green energy companies to develop sources of new energy. However, some believe that the oil companies are buying these smaller companies to restrict their activity before all their oil runs out. During that period when a little oil is left, with the high demand and low supply, the big oil companies can pick up every last money from their businesses. Then they would start developing the green energy sources. Of course, this is not fact, just an assumption analysis given by some people.

2.    No, the government should not actively subsidize bio-fuel.

a)    While alternative energies like biofuel should be used more widely in the future, they should not be subsidized. Why? The logic is simple. Subsidization often leads to lack of innovation. We are not disagreeing upon the fact that green energy is important we do not agree with the subsidization part. When the government decides to subsidize certain products, they can choose to be less efficient. The government is paying (with tax) for the inefficiency itself. If you still do not believe us, listen to a parallel example. In Korea, farmers in the countryside highly depend on rice productions (rice being the main dish in Korean and other Asian societies). Since the Korean government constantly subsidizes Korean rice, the incentive to innovate is weak.

b)    Biofuel – the name itself is extremely persuasive and eco-friendly. But are its consequents just as promising? The subsidization of biofuel also causes unexpected negative outcomes. These outcomes are not minor – they can actually cost human lives to a certain extent. America heavily subsidizes in biofuels. What is the consequence? Many crops that were farmed for food in the first place are now being transitioned into crops. We will soon be facing a lack of our own food to eat to feed our cars. Corn, for example, can easily grow on any type of land and enrich the diet of starving people. Yet they are also an important source of biofuel, and too much corn may flow out into the biofuel market. This cannot be simply altered by checks and balance systems within the economy because the society lacks enough land to grow these crops. It is not only humans that depend of food. Cows and other livestock need certain crops to live, and with biofuels, we will also be facing a challenge in raising livestock. As a result, there has been and will be a major shortage of food supplies on a global scale. In this scale, food prices will rise continuously and significantly. What does this mean? More poor people are going the globally go starving in the millions. Are we going to starve ourselves to feed machines?

c)    We do not believe that the content of biofuel itself is safe enough. Firstly, it takes a lot of work, land, and other resources in the process of growing crops. Then, a certain amount of carbon dioxide is needed to turn these crops into fuel. We believe that, because of this, no fuel can be completely environmental. Secondly, biofuel is not a hundred percent free from GHG. The fuel depends on fertilizers, transportations, and farm machinery in order to be harvested. In Brazil and Indonesia, the people have to cut down rain forests to harvest such crops. This is even more detrimental to the environment because conserving such habitats like the Amazon is the foremost obligation of the environment keepers. We cannot risk endangering biodiversity and the effects of climate change.

d)    We have a better solution than subsidizing biofuels. Rather than subsidizing biofuels, we think it is much better for us to develop through market competition. As we said in (a), it is not that we do not support green energy, but subsidizing can be the problem. Subsidizing biofuel companies will only make them complacent.