Ethanol…awesome to drink, but horrible to burn.
In modern society, there is an epidemic of addiction infecting nearly every American. Your family members, as well as, millions of additional households are afflicted with an intense reliance on a drug that reaps financial havoc and destroys relationships. This drug is being imported from other countries and without proper regulation or a solution to “kick the habit,” problems will persist and may even worsen as time transpires.
The drug being described is known as ethanol. The relationships being destroyed are between humans and the surrounding species and the financial havoc is the cost per gallon. One may ask, what do you mean ethanol is horrible? Why is using it an issue? The appropriate question should be, if it causes so many problems, why can’t we just use something else? The truth is, environmentally friendly alternatives to ethyl based energy products do exist, however, lack of sufficient pressure from the public, as well as, the lack of appropriations to develop these alternative energy technologies are preventing America from actually taking action to seek another means to fuel our nation.
Everyone is becoming aware of the ethanol problem mostly due to the high costs at the pump. Hybrid technology is slowly becoming a norm to aid in avoidance of the financial burden caused by using ethanol, but in and of itself, hybrid technology is also costly. The average income American family cannot afford to purchase a hybrid vehicle, therefore, they must just deal with the high prices and compensate by being conservative. Although a slow process, Americans are realizing that costs are a result of supply and demand. Supply is dwindling while demand is increasing. What should we do?
Already in use in various countries, to include the United States, nuclear energy, hydroelectric power, hydrogen technology, and solar power are being utilized to power homes, fuel vehicles, and provide energy to entire town. The majority of electricity provided to Las Vegas is the result of hydroelectricity. If these alternatives were less expensive, more efficient, and less ecologically hazardous, then why wouldn’t we just use them?
American culture has an obsession with instant gratification. If there is not a result that will be helpful today, then people are quickly opposed to even trying it. Ethanol is the 24-hour miracle diet that will cure our energy thirst now! The problem with this philosophy is the lack of foresight. Not projecting current problems, such as the energy crises that could be caused by ethanol, will only permit a snowball effect that in a decade will be a far more significant issue. New technologies may be slightly more expensive to develop now, but as time continues, and energy demands rise, ethanol will not be the dependable resource we can count on. Ethanol will deceive us and trick us into thinking that we must use it to persist, but it can be replaced.
Being that humans are the species with the ability to reason, it is our responsibility to use resources in a manner that does not pollute air or destroy the homes of other species. If the time and money is spent to further develop and implement the alternative technologies, then the current energy issues will be an obsolete worry. The cure for this ethanol addiction is available, safe, and efficient, so to not use it defies logic and proves that humans are not the reasonable creatures we claim to be.
