Renewable energy seems to be the way forward, with the switch to biofuel leading the way. Darren Dohme explains that the ever-growing awareness about global warming and sustainability has encouraged more and more people to turn to biofuels over fossil fuels.
Advantages of Biofuels by Darren Dohme
Health Benefits
About 10,000 people in the USA die every year due to how gasoline engines pollute the environment. Gasoline releases toxic compounds into the air which react with sunlight to form smog. This creates issues like lung diseases, cancer and other such problems which are dangerous for health, and can even result in death. Darren Dohme explains that biofuels release significantly fewer levels of particulates into the air, which creates less pollution and thus, less health concerns.
Economic Impact
The economic impact of biofuels is also quite high. Biodiesel production, for example, has had a positive effect on the economy because of how it has added to the overall GDP of the country and created new jobs. Improvement in the economy would lead to improvement in people’s standard of living as well.
Reduced Greenhouse Gasses
Global warming is a serious problem that needs to be addressed. Fossil fuels create greenhouse gas emissions that contribute towards global warming, and do so rapidly. While biofuels may not be able to completely remove the existing greenhouse gasses in the environment, they can reduce the levels that are being emitted.
According to Darren Dohme, since the carbon dioxide emissions from biofuels are offset by the carbon dioxide being used for biomass growth, they reduce the level of greenhouse gasses in the environment. In fact, studies show that switching to the use of biodiesels can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by about 87 percent.
Sustainability
Another benefit of biofuels is that they are much more sustainable than their fossil fuel counterparts. In fact, fossil fuels are a finite resource, so they will not last very long. Biofuels are made of biomass, which is renewable since plants can be grown again and again to continue creating biofuels.
Do Biofuels Have Any Downsides by Darren Dohme
While biofuels are definitely a good option, Darren Dohme explains that they are not without their own flaws. In fact, biofuels can have some problems of their own.
For one thing, the energy that is put into the growth of biomass is high enough that the overall energy benefit from biofuels turns out to be very little. Biofuels are also relatively energy inefficient since they are not dense in energy and require large amounts of biomass to produce the same level of energy as small amounts of fossil fuels.
The production process of biofuels also contributes towards water pollution and may result in food shortages if it is kept as a long-term permanent solution. Biomass production also disturbs the life cycle since it results in lack of eco-diversity on large areas of land. It is also relatively very expensive and requires large amounts of space to produce.