Biofuels were the fuels of the future; the fuels that were supposed to fix the global warming phenomena, but they have done just the opposite.

Biofuels were supposed to help cut carbon emissions and help the earth. Instead they are creating devastating effects on forests and food prices.

According to an article in the April 7 issue of Time magazine, rainforests in Brazil are being hacked away and burned to make room for the ever-increasing cow pastures and soybean fields. This depletion of the forests are creating carbon due to the deforestation machines and fires. But Brazil is not the only culprit. Many countries around the world, especially the United States, are participating in this monstrosity.

So if biofuels are so bad for the environment in which they are trying to protect, why are we as a country starting to depend on them? Why doesn’t the United States use more of an eco-friendly method such as wind or solar power?

Fossil fuels will someday run out, and they will probably cause us to burn up faster, so I believe that the United States should look towards windmills, solar plants and panels as a main energy producer. Windmills and solar panels are such a clean and efficient way to power millions of homes and businesses. According to eia.doe.gov, the United States ranks third in the world for wind power capacity, only behind Germany and Spain, but we should be first. If the US is trying to ‘go green,’ then we should stop putting so much funding into the devastating fossil fuels and put more into generating windmills.

Solar plants are another great way to gather free and unlimited resources. The only drawbacks that come with these plants are the small amount of pollutants that are emitted and the harm the plants could cause to the environment if not managed properly. But compared to the cost and the amount of pollutants expelled from other power plants, solar plants are well worth it.

The world can be a much better place if countries would put their expenses into wind farms and solar plants, and the United States should focus their cornfields to feeding people, not for powering our vehicles. As a country, we need to consider the facts and make the choice that will help slow down the global warming crisis. We need to focus on ridding ourselves of the dependence on non-renewable energy.