TPO 22 - task 1

The professor discusses the advantages of ethanol fuel and refutes each of the author's points one by one. The information he presents contradicts the facts outlined in the reading passage. Actually, ethanol fuel is a great alternative for gasoline.

First, the speaker posits that burning of ethanol does not add to the global warming problem. Although burning of ethanol fuel releases CO2 into the atmosphere, the process by which the ethanol fuel is manufactured counteracts the release of CO2. To clarify, the ethanol fuel is manufactured using plants such as corn; and the growing plants remove CO2 from the atmosphere. However, the article states that the ethanol offers no environmental advantage over gasoline.

Second, the lecturer asserts that production of ethanol fuel does not have to reduce the amount of plants available for uses other than fuel. According to the lecture, we can use the cellulose, which is the part of the plants that is not eaten by animals, to produce ethanol fuel. Therefore, production of ethanol fuel does not decrease the number of plants that are a substantial source of food for animals. On the other hand, the reading passage makes the point that the amount of plants would be reduced dramatically due to production of ethanol fuel and this would have a negative effect on animals.

Third, the professor indicates that, since the governmental supports are not always necessary, ethanol fuel can compete gasoline in price. The more the production of ethanol fuel, the more drop in its price. In accordance to the statistics, some sophisticated people predict that the cost of ethanol fuel would be reduced by 40% if its production triples. On the contrary, the article specifies that if the United States government were to stop helping the producers by tax subsidies, the price of ethanol would increase significantly.
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