Camden Central High School
Camden, Tennessee
Teacher: Wanda Allen
One Alternative Fuel Source in the Hand is Worth Two in the Bush
By: Kayla King
12th Grade
It’s the newest craze to hit Hollywood. The trendsetters of this new epidemic include big names such as Leonardo de Caprio and Cameron Diez. Celebrities today use their star power to [effect] change in the world around them. Consequently, because of this, more and more of the People Magazine reading gossipers are seeing that the grass is greener on the other side of the fence and are trading their Hummers, Bentleys. and Mercedes Benz in for the newest technological innovation in automobiles, the Hybrid. Ironically, the Hybrid does not have a laser activated security system or a voice modulated control panel, but it has a more environmentally friendly energy source, an alternative energy fuel. Trends in Hollywood come and go, but is this trend all that it is cracked up to be?
After September eleventh,…Americans…[realized] that ignoring terrorism does not put a stop to it. Terrorists attacked us on our soil; since that day we have taken additional precautions to make sure that we never have to live through another September eleventh. With the Bipartisan Energy Bill, we are one step closer to becoming less dependent on foreign fuel.
With gas prices reaching an all time high, we as Americans have to protect our economic security and safeguard against becoming vulnerable against monopolistic foreign oil tycoons. Remembering this, on August 8, 2005, President Bush signed the Energy Policy Act of 2005 putting in perspective what exactly was the best course for our nation to take. With the resources at our home front, Americans are guaranteed that economic hardships threatening the nation will not be caused by foreign powers.
Just as Rome was not built over night, the transition to an alternative fuel from prehistoric fossil fuels can add up to be a trillion dollar enterprise; comparable to our ever growing national debt. But facts prove that building Rome is possible. Brazil’s…new cars rely on either gas or ethanol, [both] cheaper, user friendly alternatives [to] oil. By…flexibly using whichever one is cheaper at the time, Brazil [was able to reduce oil consumption by 75%. This gives Brazilians more bang for their buck while still helping out the environment and building a stronger foundation for future generations.
[In this country] the Bipartisan Energy Bill cuts a path in the direction of our nation’s natural resources provided by agriculture; an American based entity that is slowly slipping away. The little man, many times forgotten in trade for cheaper, foreign, third world products, will have at least four million jobs at hand, therefore stabilizing the economy and causing inflation and mortgage rates to be lowered. This also leads to economic growth.
Thomas Jefferson once said, “If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, it expects what never was an never will be.” The Energy Bill provides funding for research to ensure that we not only work hard, but also work smart. Household products are more useful and safe. The Department of Transportation can ensure that through technologically innovative cars, local roads and national highways are likewise safer. With a safer environment, we can place more worry on [more] important things such as spreading Democracy throughout the world.
The
most important aspect of the Energy Bill is that it builds a better tomorrow
for the future of our country. This can be compared to the technological
innovations that we have made thus far in medicine. We have learned that
through study and action that no ones fate has to be destined for…heart
disease or cancer. Through regular check ups and a healthy lifestyle, one
can live happily until the age of one hundred. Imagine how much longer
Americans would live with not only a healthy lifestyle, but also a healthy
environment.
So is the “tree hugging” generation as crazy as we let them on to be? Working towards a better environment is a trend that will never go out of style. In retrospect, our future is now. There is always time to make change. It is always in style to make a difference.
References
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/08/20050808-6.html
VERY IMFORMATIVE
http://www.singerfoundation.org/current%20contests/essay%20contesys%20206/alternatives
VERY IMFORMATIVE
Answers To Questions
1.) Gassahol is the byproduct exclusively from corn and sugar cane whereas cellulosic ethanol can be produced from agricultural waste such as prairie switchgrass, woodchips, and corn husks.
2.) Auto makers produced cars that could operate using ethanol as well as gasoline before there was an adequate number of service stations that could provide ethanol because ethanol gasoline cannot replace gasoline overnight. To refine enough ethanol replace the gas we burn would require thousands of biorefineries and hundreds of billions of dollars.
3.)The first cars capable of using ethanol were produced during the time of Henry Ford’s T Models.
4.)Brazil’s experience with ethanol consisted of being a powerhouse that consumes growing amounts of oil, coal, and nuclear energy with a perfect geography for ethanol material production. The rich sugar cane fields that make up Brazil’s geography are able to be fully cultivated because of an average GDP growth rate of 2.6%. The Fortune article claimed Brazil’s key to success was that users are choosing ethanol rather than being forced to buy it.
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5.) The significance of GM’s yellow gas campaign is to promote ethanol gas research and market GM’s ethanol gas using automobiles such as the Chevy Avalanche.
6.) Bio-diesel is an alternative fuel that performs like petroleum diesel while benefiting the environment and human health compared to diesel.
7.) The “flex-fuel engine” consisted of new engines that let drivers switch between ethanol and gasoline. American based Ford produced the first prototype of a flex-fuel engine.
8.) Progress of the H.R. 6 with dates introduced, amended, and passed or
rejected:
a.) Introduced to the House
b.)Engrossed as agreed to or passed by the house, April 18th 2005
c.)Placed on a calendar in the senate
d.)Engrossed amendment as agreed to by the senate
e.)public print
f.)enrolled as agreed to or passed by both House and Senate
9.) The purpose of the fuel hybrid vehicle commercialization initiative was to improve technologies for the commercialization of Hybrid/flexible fuel vehicles in order to reduce petroleum consumption by bringing new clean technologies to the market faster.
10.)The nation’s largest renewable energy resource is hydropower.
11.)The purpose of the Hydrogen Fuel Initiative was to develop technology to produce, store, and distribute hydrogen for use in fuel-cell vehicles in order to reduce reliance on foreign oil and protect our environment .
12.Seven items mentioned in the 2005 energy tax bill that taxpayers can claim as credits against their tax bills include:
a.) the construction of energy-efficient office and homes
b.)existing business solar investment tax from 10% to 30% for the purchase of solar equipment.
c.)a tax deduction equaling the cost of energy efficient equipment installed if the equipment reduces the energy and power consumption of a commercial building by 50 %.
d.)tax Credits for the contractors of new energy efficient homes if the homes achieve an energy and power consumption of a commercial building by 50%.
e.)tax credits for the purchase of water heaters, heat pumps, air conditioners, furnaces, and other equipment that achieve certain efficiency levels when purchased for residential properties.
f.)a new tax credit for manufacturers who produce high energy-efficient dishwashers, clothes washers and refrigerators.
g.)30% tax credit for the purchase of solar, photovoltaic and fuel cell properties for use in residence.