One way to go green is with: Alternate Energy Research which has gone in many different directions.  One of these directions is in biofuels.  Many different parts of the world are looking at this from many different angles including palm oil, soybeans, sugarcane and corn to form bioethanol.

It has been noticed that there are different amounts of water needed to produce a gallon of bioethanol depending on the area’s climate and farming techniques. For dry regions that need irrigation to grow plant need to make biofuel, it may take up to 2100 gallons of water to produce just one gallon of bioethanol while in the mid west it is less than 100 gallons of water.

With an annual production of 9 billion gallons a year of biofuel, some experts differ on opinion whether biofuel is feasible for of alternate fuel during a water shortage. In addition the fertilizer that is used on the plants causes chemical runoff that has been shown to cause dead zones in parts of the oceans.  The Gulf of Mexico is the closest dead zone to America and has been growing for over a decade now.

So is biofuel a real alternative? Yes, there are less chemicals being produced when an engine burns biofuel than that of a petroleum based fuel. Yes there are fewer particles that are emitted also.  Biofuel is a renewable alternative power source that uses water, but the water is not destroyed.  Most researchers act is if the water goes away, but it does not, it just changes position on the map.  If a plant absorbs water in time it will also release it.  It is not destroyed.

Alternative energy research scientists need to look at the whole picture instead of just a small focus area.  We can recommend a site that keeps up on these various types of energy and presents it as Alternate Energy Info .

With the world dependent on the importation of oil to fuel the growth and expansion of almost every countries economy, alternate energy research has become a major interest and concern in developed nations along with new emerging countries like India.  With their energy demand on the increase but their oil and gas resources limited, the need and desire to be free of dependency on foreign oil imports is greatly increasing.

India only has 5.9 billion barrels of oil in its reserves or about 0.5% of the total global reserves. This small amount is not even close to supplying the demand needed in India’s economy. Today 70% of the oil used in India is imported. As their economy grows over the next decade and expansion in their industries, the demand for oil will only go up. It is estimated the demand could possibly be 92% of their oil supply will be imported by the year 2020.

To reduce this dependency on other nations, India’s University of Petroleum and Energy Studies has begun to concentrate their efforts in alternative energy sources through research into a variety of areas. The focus is on Bio-fuels, Solar and Wind Power, Hydrogen and Fuel Cells and any other new technology that could free this emerging nation on its dependency of foreign oil imports.

A few of this institutes projects that have been completed are the “Installation, Commissioning and Demonstration of Integrated Biodiesel Plant in the state of Uttaranchia, India”, “Ethanol Blending Program in India” and the “Development of a Biodiesel Fuelled Car.”

As for ongoing project the “Survey on Inventory and Quality of By-Product Hydrogen Potential in Selected Major Sectors in India” and the “Feasibility of using Straight Vegetable Oils as fuel in IDI Diesel Engines with different blends”.

The world has a finite supply of oil and gas reserves. As one world there needs to be a global solution. It is reassuring to this American that other countries including the new emerging economic powers, have taken the interest and dedicated resources into alternate energy research seriously.