Biodiesel dawg

Your car gets 7 miles to the gallon? You don't care about the environment? That’s kind of f***** up dawg.

You’re reading a newsletter from a media company that focuses on clean energy. I probably don’t have to explain why we should figure out better ways to combat climate change.

Determining an easy way for people who consume oil (through machines, not their mouths) is necessary to creating a greener future.

Why should I care about biofuels?

Biofuels represented 3.5% of demand in 2022. That’s awful.

The numbers:

• Cars and light trucks emitted 1.05 billion metric tons (Gt) of CO2e in the US in 2021. This accounted for 16.5% of total US greenhouse gas emissions.

• Passenger cars are a major source of CO2 emissions. These account for 61% of total CO2 emissions from EU road transport.

• The average passenger car emits 0.77 pounds of CO2 per mile driven.

• Gasoline releases 19.4 pounds of CO2 per gallon when burned, compared to 22.5 pounds per gallon for diesel.

What are biofuels?

Biofuels are a type of fuel that is made from plants and animals, rather than oil and gas.

There's something for everybody! The main types of biofuels are:

1. Ethanol: Comes from fermenting the sugars and starches in corn, sugarcane, or grass. Ethanol can power cars and trucks.

2. Biodiesel: From vegetable oils, animal fats, or recycled cooking oils. It can power diesel engines.

   

Biofuels are renewable energy sources because the plants used to make them can grow back. This differs from fossil fuels which take millions of years to form.

Biofuels release less pollution than fossil fuels when burned. They can help reduce our dependence on oil.

Downside: Growing crops for biofuels use land, water, and fertilizers, and can be bad for the environment.

Why haven’t we completely switched to biofuels yet?

Well… the environmental impacts aren’t great. There’s a potential for biofuel production to damage biodiversity. That kind of defeats the purpose of a greener solution.

Also, corn and soybeans are potential biofuel “ingredients". But - we don’t want to take food away from people for fuel. Especially with food already being difficult to get our hands on.

Switching over to biofuels is a logistical nightmare. We’ve been using fossil fuels for so long. It almost doesn’t make economic sense to switch unless we run out of traditional gasoline.

Biofuels show promise, and they’re really cool. But, it’s ahead of its time. At least until we figure out a better way to produce it and get it ready for mass adoption.

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