We are in the midst of an energy crisis. The rate we consume fossil fuels today is unmatched in all of history. Within the past few decades, people have used more fossil fuels than all of humankind before us. The big issue set before us now is what to do when we finally run out of non-renewable energy sources.
Efforts have been made to reduce consumption of these resources through a variety of options, ranging from fueling automobiles with gas mixed with ethanol to driving cars run on electricity. But the problem with these options is that they really haven’t slowed the relentless consumption of the earth’s limited fossil fuels.
Numerous studies have pointed to bio-organic fuels—plant or animal substances—as a promising alternative to gasoline, coal, and petroleum. There are many potential biofuels, such as corn and sugarcane, used to address the growing crisis. The problem with many of these organisms is that they’re either too heavily reliant on fertilizers or pesticides or require a specific climate to flourish. This is where switchgrass comes in.
Switchgrass is a warm season grass native to central North America. It is also called tall panic grass, wild redtop, and tall prairie grass, to name a few of its aliases. In Canada, this plant is found in southern Manitoba and southeastern Saskatchewan during the summer months. Switchgrass can grow on marginal lands, needing little or no fertilizer to thrive. Moreover, it is a selfseeding crop. What’s so special about this grass? Well, switchgrass produces an endlessly useful biofuel called cellulosic ethanol.
One reason why switchgrass is an excellent candidate for replacing the gasoline in our pumps is it’s production of 500 per cent more renewable energy than it needs to be grown and processed. This is an astounding figure for something as ordinary as a prairie grass. Field trials were conducted in farms in the Midwestern United states over five years. From these studies, scientists estimated greenhouse gas emissions and energy inputs and outputs. According to their findings, the greenhouse gas emissions from switchgrass-derived cellulosic ethanol on farms were 94 per cent lower than that of gasoline.
According to scientist David Suzuki, “Biofuels alone are not the quick-fix answer to global warming. [Although] in the longer term, biofuels may certainly play an important role. Some technologies, like cellulosic ethanol, are very promising and they need to be supported by government and industry now, so they can be available on a larger scale in the coming years.”
In addition to its potential role as a gasoline replacement, switchgrass can also be made into pellets to be burned in stoves and furnaces to produce heat. Scientists say that an acre of switchgrass made into pellets will heat an average Canadian home for an entire year. It is already being used to heat small industrial and farm buildings in Germany and China.
So why make the switch to switchgrass? We have depleted much of the earth’s non-renewable fuel resources, but also climate warming, pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced by making the change.
How effective this switch would be and how long it could take to implement depends on numerous factors. We may need to more research to see how feasible this option is in terms of applying it on a nationwide—let alone worldwide—scale, but the shift to more environmentally-friendly alternatives and the growing awareness about ecological issues is definitely a step in the right direction.
