The discovery of gasoline and oil was not a major sign of innovation. Its primary usage was for lighting lamps. However, upon the invention of the automobile, the use of gasoline skyrocketed since it was discovered to be a viable source of fuel. Also, in the later years, gasoline was successfully converted into electricity . This discovery and high usage of gasoline and oil has led to many serious consequences. The burning of gasoline releases carbon dioxide into the air and in return would create a greenhouse effect, a process that keeps the Earth warm by trapping heat. The high amounts of greenhouse gases leads to global warming (Pearse, 1991, pg 938). Global warming will lead to the melting of icecaps and has been proven to be the cause of abnormal weather and its destructive force to our agriculture (Khush, 2004). Scientist have realized the potential harm global warming poses on the world. Scientists have developed a new form of fuel that has been proven to release less carbon dioxide which can help prevent global warming: algae biofuel. Based on this research, algae biofuel should be prioritized

Gasoline is defined as a volatile flammable liquid hydrocarbon mixture used as a fuel. While its discovery is not known, its main purpose was for lighting lamps. However, it was with the invention of objects such as the automobile that increased the usage of gasoline. Gasoline was chosen as a fuel for automobiles due to its ability to burn with the presence of oxygen. This is what propels the car. While the primary chemical formula of gasoline is C8H18, many things are added to gasoline to help the engine of the car, like alcohols such as ethanol and ethers such as tertiary hexyl methyl ether.

The main problem with gasoline is its high release of carbon dioxide To ignite gasoline, you must expose the gasoline to oxygen. The chemical equation of gasoline exposed to oxygen creates this reaction: 2 C8H18 + 25 O2 ? 16 CO2 + 18 H2O. Based on this formula, we are able to see how much carbon dioxide would be emitted over any given time frame. For every one liter of gasoline, which is usually about 760 grams, the amount of carbon dioxide emitted would total to more than 2000 grams of carbon dioxide. Since the average car uses about 2649 liters of oil per year, one car alone annually emits about 1,862,247 grams of carbon dioxide. There are about 250 million registered cars in the United States. Thus, we are able to conclude that in one year alone by the United States over 465,561,750,000,000 grams of carbon dioxide. This is very dangerous to the environment as high amounts of CO2 contribute to global warming. Global warming leads to a decline in crops such as rice (Khush, 2004) and there could be more deaths due to a more inconsistent weather. Global warming also has a negative effect on the lives of animals, such as birds that have a high risk of becoming extinct if the temperature rises by 2.5 degrees Celsius. This also has an effect on the migration of birds since they travel north based on the temperatures. During the summer, they travel north to keep cool. However, many birds leave 21 days earlier than the supposed date because it is too warm. Furthermore, the migratory birds don’t leave the north until 9 days after their normal date due to temperature (American Bird Conservancy).

However, this could be avoided if a switch to algae biofuel was prioritized. The process of creating biofuel was made more efficient by the US Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (Nguyen, 2013). This is very important to know because the process of creating gasoline takes millions of years. However, people are now able to create a fuel in less than an hour. Furthermore, algae biofuel emits less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. If the burning of algae biofuel follows this equation: 4 C2O2H3 + 7 O2 ? 6 H20 + 7 CO2, we are able to conclude that CO2 emissions will be decreased by 56.25% (Cristi, 2007, pg 2). This would create a significant decrease in the bad effects of global warming and prevent the future predictions of global warming from happening.

Based on the preceding research, a switch from gasoline to algae biofuel should be prioritized. Algae biofuel will help remove gasoline dependence, and would decrease the current trends in CO2 emissions. With the steady decline in the world’s supply of gasoline and petroleum, the efficient creation of biofuels is just what the world needs to sustain its needs for energy. While we have the ability to create a large amount of algae biofuel and the research to prove its effectiveness in reducing CO2 emissions, the initiative to implement such policies must be taken. Without someone actively encouraging a quick transition from gasoline to algae biofuel as a source of gasoline, we will be harming the environment more. The consequences are inevitable if a transition is not prioritized.


Work Cited

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