The Policies That Govern Ethanol Production and Usage in the U.S. in Transporting Ethanol - Essay Example

Sustainable development in the world comprises economics, society, and the environment. Therefore, people need to gather basic information from social sciences, humanities, and natural sciences to understand the principles behind sustainable development, their implementation, their values, and how to ramify implementation. In the U.S., science is partially held responsible for economic problems like fossil fuel use, social problems, and ecological problems like pollution. Thus, the role of science is centered on exploring the aspects of social sciences.

These controversies have been vital in resolving environmental, national security, and economic concerns in the U.S. The country has been trying to resolve and reduce the use of fossil fuels. This has led to debates among leaders on the invention of a renewable fuel source like ethanol. Scientific criticism is diverse as it focuses on the external instrumentalization process of science and technology in economic, political, and military spheres. It also focuses on the internal academic structures where questions on social relevance that is grounded on causality and reductionism.

Furthermore, solutions to social problems are also analyzed. A scientific approach like the use of ethanol is accepted if the outcomes of the process are ethical: it is less harmful as compared to other fuel sources. Hopes can be drawn to science if the values and the epistemological foundations attached are beneficial to the citizens. For instance, the production of corn in the U.S. has increased from one-third to five billion bushels between 1990 to 2010. This is an economic improvement thus earning more profit for the locals.

Question 2 Human activities such as deforestation have negatively affected the production of corn. Furthermore, climatic conditions such as drought also affect corn production. Thus, ethanol production from corn is non-renewable; which means that corn production also reduces. This has directly affected the level of ethanol produced. This has led to a food shortage in Mexico due to the depleted corn. Furthermore, an increase in the production of ethanol leads to pollution and degrades agriculture. This has led to the enforcement of environmental policies to curb the production of ethanol.

In addition, ethanol production is affected by the market trend. The high demand for ethanol has forced many ethanol users to participate in the business. This is due to the fewer environmental effects that ethanol has on the environment. It is also estimated that the price of gasoline is about $0.9 per gallon due to the presence of ethanol. Due to the low prices, ethanol has risen in recent years in the U.S.