Associated Press
10-09-06
Environmental group concerned about side effects of ethanol
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Gas pump labels tout ethanol as the fuel that means "cleaner air for Iowa."
While the corn-based fuel does benefit air quality, the process of making ethanol
has some ironic side effects that may quell environmentalists' enthusiasm for the
emerging industry.
Major concerns include the emissions of ethanol plants that run on fossil fuels
and the soil erosion that large-scale corn growing can cause.
The industry has been a challenge to regulate and is a "fairly big emitter of
contaminants," said Wayne Gieselman, the administrator of the Iowa Department
of Natural Resources' environmental services division.
"It is one of the ironies of this, because it is cleaner air through gas pumps, but
the whole technology and the industry that manufactures this is big business,"
Gieselman said.
Scientists and environmentalists are seeking ways to solve the industry's harmful
side effects.
The Iowa Environmental Council, a coalition of conservation groups, has
released a policy statement encouraging the biofuels industry to minimize the
adverse effects ethanol production could have on Iowa's environment.
"We love this revolution," said Rich Leopold, the council's executive director. "We
think it's a great thing that this is happening. We just want to do it in the right
way."
Leopold said the state already has lost on average about half its rich, fertile
topsoil because of farming during the last 50 or 60 years. As the ethanol industry
expands, farmers will place more burden on farmland to produce more corn, he
said.
That's why the research of Andy Heggenstaller and others could be pivotal. The
Iowa State University graduate student is experimenting with biomass crops
that could reduce soil erosion and help farmers profit.
A farm field in Boone County is playing host to his experiment, where he is
growing perennial grasses and exotic crops from other parts of the world in test
plots. He wants to see whether combinations of two crops can create more
biomass than a single crop of corn — and with fewer side effects.
"I see sort of corn and soybeans as what we do now, and switchgrass, or
perennial biomass grasses, is what I see us doing in 10 or 15 years,"
Heggenstaller said. "But I think the transition between corn and soybeans ... is
going to be rocky."
Scientists are also trying to solve the industry's emissions dilemma by reducing
the use of coal or natural gas to power production plants.
At least one plant is using switchgrass to supplement the powering of its coalpowered plant, said Chad Hart, a scientist with the Center for Agricultural
and Rural Development at Iowa State University. Distillers grain, a byproduct
of corn-based ethanol production, also can be used as an energy source to run
the plant.
"I think they're trying," Hart said. "Now whether they'll succeed is still an open
question."
Advocates acknowledge Iowa's ethanol plants are doing a better job reducing
harmful emissions. Some scientists even acknowledge that the use of ethanol —
even when it is produced using fossil fuels — still means an overall reduction in
greenhouse gases.
Leopold wants the industry to strive for better practices and embrace any
changes necessary — even if that means decreasing corn's role in the business.
"It's not like we're against corn, you know," Leopold said. "We want to maximize
the environmental benefits, and corn might not be the best way to do that in the
long term.
"The decisions that we're making are going to have impact for generations. Do
we want to build more of an infrastructure that is sure to be phased out?"
Ethanol makers defend their practices and say they are continually improving
what they do.
Monte Shaw, executive director of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association, said
the industry produces fuels in an environmentally friendly way and has developed
many innovations to become more energy efficient.
The association represents Iowas ethanol and biodiesel producers, which Shaw
calls "good neighbors" for the environment.