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Created with Fabric.js 1.4.5 Gasoline Production in the US Today The US uses almost 18 million barrels of oil per day and imports 35% of this. Therest, about 12 million barrels per day, comes from domestic oil production, includingfracking and ethanol from biomass (about 1 million barrels per day). 19% of the nation's oil comesfrom the heartland. Corn is the most abundant grain grown inthe US, and 40% of it is diverted to theproduction of ethanol. 40% 59% The majority of the nations oil comes from the southern states. The Western states provide 7%of America's oil, while Alaska (notpictured) provides 15%.. Thanks to recent fracking boomsin states like Ohio, the oil productionfrom shale has risen to 5 millionbarrels per day, making the US thegreatest producer of oil globally. 50% In the 1970's during the OPEC oil crisis, the US governmentbegan incentivizing alternative fuel sources in order to reduceour dependence on unreliable foreign oil sources. 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 Avg MPG lbs. CO2 produced per gallon BTUs to produce 1 gallon (1000s) Producing Ethanol Fuel from Food Grains is Inefficient Ethanol is a liquid that can be usedas a fuel and is made from fermentedfood grains, like corn. Ethanol is commonly used to substitute forimported crude oil in gasoline. 19% 7% But, Biomass Ethanol is not Efficient... Fracking has changed the economics ofbiomass ethanol. It is now cheaper to frack for oil than it is to grow corn,harvest it, and convert it to ethanol. On an energy content basis, ethanol containsless energy than a gallon of gas, meaning lessmpg with ethanol. While ethanol burns cleaner than gasoline, thisadvantage is lost when considering the overallcarbon footprint required to produce ethanol. The economics might change if ethanol was produced from biomass having lessvalue as a food to us than corn. By not turning corn into ethanol, 33.6 million acresof farmland would be available to either grow cornfor food or to grow other crops. Sources "Crude Oil Production." Crude Oil Production. Web. 17 Dec. 2014.Lappe, Anna. Diet for a Hot Planet: The Climate Crisis at the End of Your Fork and What You Can Do about It. New York: Bloomsbury USA, 2010. Print."U.S. Energy Information Administration - EIA - Independent Statistics and Analysis." U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Web. 17 Dec. 2014."U.S. Energy Information Administration - EIA - Independent Statistics and Analysis." EIA. Web. 17 Dec. 2014."USDA ERS - Corn: Background." USDA ERS - Corn: Background. Web. 17 Dec. 2014.
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