Advantages and Downfalls

Advantages of Biofuels

Renewable: Biofuels are efficient in nature, because they are derived from sources that are renewable and unlikely to run out any time soon, like soybeans, switchgrass, corn, manure. Fossil fuels, on the other hand, will expire and be all gone one day.
Reduce Greenhouse Gases: A large amount of greenhouse gases is produced when fossil fuels are burnt. Those greenhouse gases are harmful due to their ability to trap sunlight and cause the planet to warm. However, when biofuels are used, the impact of greenhouse gases are reduced.
Cost: Biofuels have the potential to be less costly than gasoline and other fossil fuels.
Source material: Biofuels can be manufactured from a wide range of materials including crop waste, manure, and other byproducts, whereas oil is a limited resource that comes from specific materials
Security: The nation’s dependence upon foreign energy is decreased, as biofuels can be produced locally.
Economic stimulation: Because biofuels are produced locally, biofuel manufacturing plants can employ hundreds or thousands of workers, creating new jobs in rural areas.
Lower carbon emissions: When biofuels are burned, they produce significantly less carbon output and fewer toxins, making them a safer alternative to preserve atmospheric quality and lower air pollution.

Downfalls of Biofuels

Energy output: Biofuels have a lower energy output than traditional fuels and therefore require greater quantities to be consumed in order to produce the same energy level
Production carbon emissions: there are strong indications by several studies that the process to produce the fuel - including the machinery necessary to cultivate the crops and the plants to produce the fuel - has hefty carbon emissions.
High cost: a relatively large initial investment is necessary to refine biofuels to more efficient energy outputs, and to build the necessary manufacturing plants to increase biofuel quantities
Food prices: prices for certain staple food crops will rise As demand for food crops such as corn grows for biofuel production
Food shortages: could possibly lead to food shortages, because more land is used to grow crops that will produce biofuels
Water use: proper irrigation of biofuel crops and also to manufacture the fuel require Massive quantities of water, which could strain local and regional water resources.

Citations T-18, T-19, T-20

Citation I-36