Should corn ethanol be used as a fuel?Alternative energy is now the global race. With the end of the space race and the cessation of the nuclear arms race, alternative energies have become the race for the ages. In today's society, with today's technology, there are all kinds of forms of alternative energy. These energies include hydroelectricity, geothermal, biomass, nuclear energy and much more. With all these variations of alternative energy, the question now arises which form is best to use? Are any of them safe? Which would effectively resolve the waning global energy crisis? Of course, the country that is capable of producing clean and efficient energy; this country would become the new world power practically overnight. With today's technology, should we rely on food/corn as our primary source of energy? Considering the amount of resources the world as a whole has access to, why use corn as a fuel source? Some would say that countries like the United States have a glut of food. Logically, countries with a food surplus MUST have enough to curb the rapid rise in oil and gasoline prices. Unfortunately, this is a misconception. In order to produce enough corn to fuel the global economy, it's important to analyze what this actually means for farmers and the government, not to mention the actual food supply. In order to produce corn ethanol, we must first grow corn in abundance. Simple, right? Wrong, corn drains a lot of the soil it is grown on, which, in short, means whoever grows the corn will have to rotate the corn planting with something that will restore nutrients to the soil. Unfortunately, this takes time and money. The task would be... middle of paper ... and will undoubtedly become the world leader. Works Cited Cushman, Lynd, Nichols, Wyman. “Ethanol fuel from cellulosic biomass. " Science. March 1991. Vol 251 (4999): 1321 Fargione, Hawthorne, Hill, Polasky, Tilman. “Land clearance and the carbon debt of biofuels. " Science. February 2008. Vol 319 (5967):1235Lof, George. “Solar energy: an infinite source of clean energy. » Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Sciences. Flight 410:52 Stauffer, Nancy. “MIT ethanol analysis confirms benefits of biofuels.” Energy and Environment Laboratory. January 2007. Tyner, Wallace. “The American ethanol and biofuels boom: its origins, current status, and future prospects.” Biosciences. August 2008. Vol 58 (7):646Voegele, Erin. "Flint Hills Resources to Acquire Georgia Ethanol Plant." Ethanol Producers Magazine. September 8, 2014