The 20th century has struggled with the economic and environmental strains of fueling the growing industrial machine of modernization. With the pumping of oil and burning of coal, a bleak picture of the civilized world's reliance on this dark energy has inspired predictions of global catastrophe from the wary. Our dominant fuel sources have turned on us, and no shameful fact of varying economic consequence lays too well hidden: pollution has led to global warming, dwindling supply of oil has led to international conflicts, and rising gas prices have altered national consumption. Global demand for our redemption has begun to take hold with the future of the fuel agenda resting its hope on technological innovation and the increased adaptation of alternative energy sources.
In 2006 President Bush had outlined the Advanced Energy Initiative, stating his hope for a practical substitution of more than 30% of the United States' fuel consumption within five years through the use of renewable liquid biofuels (Bush). Renewable liquid biofuels (such as ethanol and biodiesel) served as a key focus to the plan, providing the most feasible alternative energy platform to the use of gasoline and diesel. The limited amount of modification to current technology that must be transformed through their usage allows for a relatively easy public adaptation for these fuel sources. On January 23, 2007, President Bush once again echoed before a well-received Congress the desperate pleas for energy transformation in his annual State of the Union Address. It is clear that the evolution of traditional energy lies merely around the corner of political will.
I will assume in my research to find precedence for another country's attempt for biofuel conversion. One specific case is that of Brazil, which has managed to standardize the use of ethanol in vehicles during the 1980's. Since this politically- and economically-motivated transition, Brazil has grown to become the largest exporter of ethanol in the world (Barzelay). I will also be assuming through my studies that there is a current economic inefficiency that has managed to hamper the immediate adoption of renewable liquid biofuels in the United States today. The rise of corn prices in the face of heavily-increased demand for corn used in ethanol production has already managed to open doubtful speculations over the possibilities of a sustainable policy in the future (Caplinger).
Throughout my research, I anticipate the majority of my sources to come from books, federal and/or state documents, and journals. I also count on the rich use of contemporary media sources such as online news stories and financial market articles. Whereas much of the printed material found in libraries is quickly becoming outdated, it will be useful in finding precedence for policy implementation. Along with the growing sentiment for a “greener” tomorrow, contemporary media sources have managed to capture information that ultimately pieces together an economic outlook on the energy industry's transformation. Because of this, I intend to use a sizeable amount of peer-reviewed online sources to exploit the recent development of environmental thought.
Few people today can ignore how environmentally-conscious the world has seemingly become. For America, a rude awakening has come in the midst of challenging foreign policy, counting dollars at the gas station, and dismaying over the strength of hurricanes. It has brought about a shift in cultural thought concerning the way we fuel our economy. With it, America now finds itself at a crossroads in transforming its energy infrastructure through a tedious pursuit for a viable solution. Alternative energy sources such as renewable liquid biofuels offer both a hope and a burden, a mixture of haziness in an uncertain destiny. With this research paper, my intention will be to accurately portray the challenges the United States has faced and will soon encounter along its journey to adopt an energy standard that addresses this environmental agenda. To illustrate this, I intend to cover in-depth the economic implications of the introduction of renewable liquid biofuels into American society. As a consequence of such economic maneuvers, I will endeavor to show that there is a clearly defined economic process that lies before the United States in its road towards an efficient clean-energy independence from foreign fuel addiction.
