Is corn-based ethanol worse for the environment than gasoline? Reuters reported that according to a new study, the answer is yes.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
conducted by the USDA in 2019 found that ethanol’s carbon intensity was 39% lower than gasoline’s. Part of that was due to carbon sequestration associated with planting new cropland.as part of the effort to decarbonize the US economy by 2050. Dr. Tyler Lark, the lead author of the study, point blank stated that corn ethanol isn’t a climate-friendly fuel. Lark is an assistant scientist at the University of Wisconsin–Madison Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment.
Not everyone agreed with the research. Geoff Cooper, president and CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association, which is the ethanol trade lobby,