Zaremba, H. (2020). Why Is The U.S. Military Funding This New Biofuel Breakthrough?.
OilPrice.com. Retrieved 9 March 2020, from https://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy
/Biofuels/Why-Is-The-US-Military-Funding-This-New-Biofuel-Breakthrough.html.

This article details how plans to harness energy from the sea up until now have not been successful. Tidal energy is not possible on a large scale in the US and even though it is in other countries, they have not utilized it. Also, attempts to use algal biofuel have not lived up to the hype as there is no cost-effective way to use it commercially. The Manchester Institute of Biotechnology has found a way for aquatic bacteria from sea water to create biofuels from agricultural and food waste. While algae needed very specific conditions to produce, these sea water bacteria can live in many environments. Reportedly, aquatic bacteria can produce clean-burning, cost-effective biofuels that do not compete for land with food.

This is the type of biofuel that I think can actually make a difference in our world. If these aquatic bacteria are as cost-effective as is being reported, they will be able to produce biofuels commercially. Producing biofuels this way could become popular, and reshape how we consume energy in the future. The fact that the bacteria would not compete with food for land means it also will not contribute to deforestation which is a major problem with the production of other biofuels. This article relates to environmental science because it details how we can take an organism and use it to solve issues that impact the habitats of the world’s wildlife and ecosystems. 

Coca, N. (2020). Coconut Oil Could Be the Next Disastrous Biofuel. Earther. Retrieved 9 March
2020, from https://earther.gizmodo.com/coconut-oil-could-be-the-next-disastrous-
biofuel-1841816771.

The United Coconut Association of the Philippines (UCAP) has stated that they will increase their coconut biodiesel component to 5%. While biofuels burn more cleanly than regular gasoline and typically are more sustainable, increasing coconut harvest in the Philippines may be worse for the environment than it is good. The Philippines are covered in tropical rainforests, and increasing coconut yield may also mean increasing farmland, and cutting down trees. A study funded by the European Commission tells that palm oil biofuels actually have thrice the carbon footprint that regular diesel does. This is primarily because of the destruction of tropical rainforest. The same issue would come with increased coconut plantations. 

This article relates to environmental science because it details the positive and negative impacts of producing and using coconut biofuels. Unfortunately, I do not think biofuels are the way of the future. To have biofuels completely replace gasoline would cause a massive loss of land for forests and people. Although biofuels burn cleaner than gasoline does, they do not help enough to bring us out of the deficit we face with carbon emissions. Even if they are more sustainable than fossil fuels, all the resources that need to be put into their production somewhat negate that as well. While I do think biofuels have a place in certain areas, like aviation or powering areas without other sources, I cannot see them taking over powering transportation.

US airline Delta commits $1 billion to become carbon neutral. Biofuels International. (2020).
Retrieved 9 March 2020, from https://biofuels-news.com/news/us-airline-delta-
commits-1-billion-to-become-carbon-neutral/.

Delta Airlines just announced that it will commit $1 billion to reducing their carbon footprint from their operations around the world. The company plans to do so by investing in innovation, integrating clean technology, and reducing carbon output outside of their flights. To reduce carbon output on aircrafts, Delta will renew their fleets by cutting extra weight, improving flight operations, and decreasing their use of jet fuel by introducing sustainable aviation fuels or SAFs. They will also look into carbon negative processes such as wetland restoration and forestry. 

I think Delta is taking a great step here. Their willingness to change will make a huge impact in the world as well as in their profits. My family chose to drive down to Los Angeles over winter break because it would release less carbon than flying. If the option for a carbon neutral airline were on the table, we would have chosen that, and I think many others would as well. This article relates to environmental science because it details a massive company taking a risk in order to better this planet. 2% of global carbon emissions come from the aviation industry, so if Delta manages to get more customers out of this, other airlines will be forced to follow. Through competition alone, 2% of the world’s carbon emissions could be gone. 

Huffstutter, P., & Weinraub, M. (2020). Trump’s agriculture department announces 30% biofuel
goal for 2050. Reuters. Retrieved 9 March 2020, from https://www.reuters.com/article
/us-usa- ethanol/trumps-agriculture-department-announces-30-biofuel-goal-for-2050-
idUSKBN20E1F3.

The Trump administration has laid out goals for biofuel infusion in US transportation fuels. These goals include a 15% blend rate in the next ten years and a 50% blend rate by 2050. The plan stands in contrast to the administration’s current actions of giving biofuel waivers to over 30 refineries. Another goal set by the administration is to boost farm production by 40% while reducing their environmental impact by half in that same ten year time period. Surprisingly, the EPA has been historically opposed to an increase in biofuel blend rate, but approved 15% blended fuel for sale in 2019.

This article relates to environmental science because it encompasses politics, chemistry, and economics. Higher blend rates in fuels would reduce the carbon output of transportation and it backed by powerful political support; meanwhile, the economics of the matter are polarized. Donald Trump’s political action is divisive as his administration has made it seem like a goal of theirs is to prop up the fossil fuel industry for as long as they can. Trump is subsidizing coal and trying to keep as many coal mining jobs as possible, even though it is a dying industry, so it seems like a step in the right direction for his administration to look to the future and see where our power should be coming from.

Dlouhy, J. (2020). Trump’s Biofuel Plan Triggers Fallout in U.S. Farm Country.
Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 9 March 2020, from https://www.bloomberg.com
/news/articles/2020-03-06/trump-s-biofuel-plan-triggers-political-fallout-in-farm-country.

President Donald Trump defended the government’s power to exempt oil refineries from blending their oil with biofuel requirements. This triggered massive backlash in Iowa, as the corn-growing state is also a massive producer of ethanol biofuel. The farmers and ethanol producers state that an exemption of biofuel requirements will have a massive negative effect on the rural economy and many agricultural jobs will be lost in the process. On the other hand, the oil lobby stated that thousands of blue-collar oil jobs will be lost and these exemptions need to happen amid the coronavirus-spurred slump in sales of petroleum products in order to preserve the economic health of refineries. 

This article relates to environmental science because it covers political, environmental, chemistry, and economic elements on the issue at hand. Ethanol is both cleaner and more sustainable than oil, but economic and political and economic reasons stand in the way of its implementation into gasoline. In my opinion, there should be no exceptions for blending biofuel into gasoline for certain refineries. In our current environmental climate, we need all the help we can get in reducing carbon dioxide emissions, however small they may be. Additionally, many Iowa citizens have stated that Trump’s Iowa campaign rides on his decision on this matter. Iowa voted for Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012, so I think Trump may double back on his decision in order to secure the state.

Abbas, S. (2019). Opinion: Guilty conscience from a world on fire – The Review. Retrieved 18 November
2019, from http://udreview.com/opinion-guilty-conscience-from-a-world-on-fire/

This opinion piece about chemical engineering and biofuels places blame on engineers for creating the technologies that burned fuel to put us in this situation and not emphasizing use of clean energies. This train of thought was brought up in the face of the California wildfires that seem to happen continuously and climate refugees leaving third world countries. The article pokes blame at ExxonMobil for having thousands of engineers and not prioritizing biofuel engineering because they are not driven by the market to do so, although they advertise as if it were a forefront of their business.

I find this piece to be very necessary. So much of the pollution done today is done by massive corporations such as ExxonMobil in order to cut costs, and as long as it benefits them to do so, they will not change. I think the fact the ExxonMobil advertizes like they are putting a lot of effort into biofuel is unethical if they are not, especially since the potential of algae is so huge. The article leaves with the statement that as we can see, it is pointless to try to get companies to change their ways, so all we can do is change our own ways and reduce our own energy consumption. This relates to environmental science as it combines economics with ethics and pollution.

Vertimass awarded up to $1.4 billion to optimise renewable jet fuel. (2019). Retrieved 18 November 2019, from https://biofuels-news.com/news/vertimass-awarded-up-to-1-4- billion-to-optimise- renewable-jet-fuel/

A California-based company called Vertimass was chosen by the Bioenergy Technology Office (BTO) to receive up to $1.4 billion to optimize its jet fuel. The company uses ethanol, but differently than most ethanol being used currently. Most ethanol is only mixed in at about 10 percent with diesel fuel, but Vertimass can introduce a much higher concentration of ethanol with their new catalyst. It also has the potential to overcome the barriers set by other ethanols in that their energy output is not high enough.

This is definitely exciting in two ways. First, a governmental organization in the BTO was willing to give $1.4 billion to a company, meaning that the US government is looking to the future in fuels and sees the error in our current ways, which I did not think they did before. Next, the new catalyst being used is exciting because it overcomes so many boundaries that we have while using ethanol. It means that we can use a higher density of organic compounds in our fuels, which is more sustainable, and possibly that it can produce much more energy than it currently does, so it would be more widely accepted by industry, which values efficiency over everything. This relates to environmental science because it involved government in the form of grants, business, and environmental issues that are being solved.

Epstein, C. (2019). Sustainable Aviation Fuel Finally Starting To Take Off. Retrieved 18
November 2019, from https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation
/2019-10-20/sustainable-aviation-fuel-finally-starting-take

A sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) was displayed at Van Nuys Airport (VNY) on a trial basis for aviation businesses. The biofuel was supplied by the companies World Energy and Gevo, and was generally well-received. They brought a blend of 14000 gallons of fuel and put it through all the pumps and planes to show that it cooperated with all the current technology currently used. When tested in a plane, it was said to have better freeze-point qualities, more energy density, and being a better fuel than traditional jet fuels.

This is also an incredibly promising biofuel because it is the first one that I have seen that has been tested and liked by businesses. Hopefully the costs are not revealed to be too much, but if this works, it would be a massive step for the world. Planes contribute a massive amount to greenhouse gas emissions and take a lot of our oil stores, so to burn biofuels would most likely produce fewer emissions and would be much more sustainable. This relates to environmental science as it combines the economics of business to the environmental sustainability impact of burning biofuels instead of traditional gasoline.

Manchester, U. (2019). Biofuels could be made from bacteria that grow in seawater |
Biomassmagazine.com. Retrieved 18 November 2019, from http://biomassmagazine.
com/articles/16583/biofuels-could-be-made-from-bacteria-that-grow-in-seawater

A Manchester research group led by Professor Nigel Scrutton of the University of Manchester is conducting research in China Lake, California. The research is meant to study a species of bacteria called Halomonas that lives in seawater and is thought to produce a biofuel that the researchers are trying to use as jet fuel. The key points of a good, economic biofuel are that they require minimal processing, avoid the use of fresh water, and can be cultivated on a massive scale, all of which could be true.

This seems like one of the most promising biofuels that I have read about thus far. The fact that this bacteria grows in seawater means that fewer resources will have to go into it to produce a good biofuel, and most likely it can survive in less controlled conditions, meaning that their upkeep should not be too expensive. This relates to environmental science as the production of biofuels is a pursuit in sustainability and strives to reduce the pollution that comes with burning traditional fuels. The bacteria are said to have a very long lifespan and are durable, which means that they are also economical, and if their fuel is ever put into production, it would be able to be implemented because it could be sold at a lower cost.

NBB strengthens presence in California with new West Coast office. (2019). Retrieved 18
November 2019, from https://biofuels-news.com/news/nbb-strengths-presence-in-
california-with-new-west-coast-office/

The National Biodiesel Board has opened up an office in California. The Board is an association that aims to promote sustainable biofuel industry growth. The new office in California is located in Sacramento, and will be run by Floyd Vergara who has 32 years of environmentally related work under his belt already. He had previously worked at the California Air Resources Brand which aims to promote cleaner resource use as to reduce air pollution in California.

This article relates to environmental science as it includes economics with the businesses and associations involved, and the sustainability and pollution issues in environmental advocacy. I think it is great that the association is moving to California, especially in Sacramento, which is so close to Silicon Valley. Since Silicon Valley produces so much or at least influences a lot of production, having an environmentally conscious board in close enough proximity to try to regulate pollution and implement the use of biofuels in an environmentally forward area is a step in the right direction. Also, California tends to lead to way in a lot of progress, so if the Board helps us to use more biofuels, or develop them in a more efficient way, the rest of the nation would follow.