According to this chart by GOOD Magazine and data from Environmental Law Institute, between the years of 2002 and 2008, renewable energy projects only received $12.2 billion in government help. $6.2 billion of that was from tax breaks and the other $6 billion was spent directly.
While this may sound like a decent-sized number, guess how much money the fossil fuel industry raked in? $70.2 billion was given for those that are keeping track. While only $16.3 billion was given and spent directly, $53.9 billion was given in tax breaks. All of this has been going on while the oil industry continues to profit year after year. Isn’t the US such a wonderful country?
The drive to end ethanol
Sarcasm aside, corn ethanol, which relies on subsidies from the government, received $11 billion in tax breaks with $5 billion in spending directly. Because of this, the US has been able to take certain fossil fuels like natural gas and diesel and turn them into plants. These plants were then taken and used to create a fossil-fuel substitute, which cost the environment severely. This method of production is not cost-effective or great for the Earth.
According to The Foundry, there are plenty of reasons why ethanol production needs to be ceased eventually. Since the demand for corn is continually rising along with commodity prices, farmers are encouraged to practice their farming techniques on unsuitable land that may end up damaging it. With rising commodity prices, farmers are encouraged to plant on many more acres, with plenty of land not being the best fit for farming.
Because of this lower quality land, corn crops require an increased amount of pesticides and fertilizer. And according to a report by the USDA, corn received around 5.6 million tons of nitrogen applied to its crops. While nitrogen is not a bad thing, it can actually be harmful if farmers to not apply it to their crops properly.
The USDA also says that 70 percent of corn crops do not meet their top standards for using nitrogen in fertilizer. Because of this, the USDA states that since the demand for corn has risen, higher amounts of nitrogen may end up being released into the atmosphere.
Because of these statements by the USDA, it shows that even though the US government believes that increases demand for ethanol will help to counter the effects of global warming and our reliance on oil, it is actually hurting the environment significantly. These crop subsidies are encouraging farmers to plant on dismal land which, in effect, is hurting the environment.
Global fossil fuel subsidies
If you thought the number for US fuel subsidies was bad, wait until you hear about the number on a global scale. According to WorldWatch.org, global fossil fuel subsidies are estimated to be between $775 billion and $1 trillion within the year of 2012! That is insane comparing that to World Watch Institute’s statement that renewable energy only received $66 billion within the year of 2010.
While this number is the total cost in dollars, keep in mind that those statistics don’t even begin to get into what kind of damage this has done on an environmental level around the globe.
Ending fossil fuel subsidies is the answer but the US government does not seem to want to do anything about it, despite all of the major benefits that come along with it. For instance, World Watch Institute also claims in their report that if these subsidies were removed by the time the Earth hits the year 2020, the entire energy consumption would drop by a total of 3.9 percent and 3.7 million less barrels of oil would be needed on a daily basis. Just think about how much the rates your energy supplier offers would go down.
By phasing out fossil fuel subsidies and focusing more on renewable energy, not only could we improve the global economy but this would also have a huge impact on the environment as well.
[Editor’s note: This piece was kindly written and submitted by Evelyn Robinson, a graduate of International Business and Journalism who writes about a wide range of topics from sustainability to small business marketing.]
