Hey all, sorry about the super late post. I had some... er... super important things to take care of this weekend. You wouldn't understand. No more wasting time! Let's see how (4) Biofuels and (5) Trains stack up!
Biofuels
Biofuels, wow such a huge topic that one paragraph won't be enough. But I'll try. Biofuels are anythings that fuel vehicles that are made from plant or animal matter. Theoretically, they are renewable, but that assumes that you plant more of the crop. Common examples are gasoline made from algae and ethanol made from corn.
Impact on the Environment (7/15):
I really want to give this one higher marks. Because anything that can reduce our dependence on foreign oil and potentially burn cleaner would be a great idea. But here's the catch. As we chop down all that abundant corn growing in our backyards, that's that much less corn for us to feed to livestock and eat ourselves. That drives up prices and forces us to use more land for farms (which I've mentioned in the Wildlife Conservation is a bad thing). On top of that, ethanol still releases carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases when it's burned.
Practicality (9/10):
Biofuels are very practical. We won't need to change much about our cars. We don't need to change much about our gas pipelines. We're already growing corn and other crops like switchgrass. In fact, up to 10% of gas you get now contains corn-based ethanol.
Sustainability (5/10):
Even if we switched half of the gasoline we use to corn-based ethanol, we won't have enough corn in this country for that, let alone feeding livestock. So this won't solve our oil crisis. The good news is that scientists are working on non-corn based alternatives to making ethanol. Things like sugar cane (widely used now in Brazil) and algae (we're never going to run out of ocean (unless the Great Pacific Garbage Patch has its way)).
Awesomeness (4/10):
I mean, really, you don't even see the gas you put in your car now, so you wouldn't notice if it suddenly looked like corn-based fuel. Even if it was glowing green because it was made from algae, you still wouldn't notice. Go on with your lives, people, nothing to see here.
User Input (0/5):
Get those comments in, everyone!
Trains
Even three year old kids know what Trains are. I don't think that I need to go over this one.
Impact on the Environment (12/15):
Getting more Trains on the road instead of trucks will save a lot of gas because Trains don't stop for red lights and traffic and all that junk. And with high speed Trains becoming more popular, people can travel from one city to another just as quick as air travel but without the gas guzzling airplanes.
Practicality (4/10):
Trains. Hm... The problem is that you can't get rid of trucks altogether. I mean, could you imagine a FedEx Train showing up outside your house to deliver packages? Trains are so limited in where they can go and they take a whole lot of effort to load and unload and everything like that. The good news is that Trains have been around so long that the technology is very mature and people have figured out pretty well how to make Trains.
Sustainability (5/10):
Trains should last for a very very long time. If the rails are kept up pretty well and the Trains are maintained, the rail system should last for quite a long time. A lot of the rail lines that exist in this country have been around since before the Civil War, so 150 years means that Trains weren't just some fad. But there has to be a reason a lot of the rail lines have been shut down in the past 20 years, especially in the Midwest. The killer - Interstate system. Stupid Interstate System...
Awesomeness (8/10):
Trains are pretty darn awesome. I mean, what boy in this country didn't have some kind of Train that they played with when they were kids? Unless of course they run through your backyard, everyone loves trains.
User Input (0/5):
Get those comments in, everyone!
Alright, let's tally those scores!
Biofuels: 25
Trains: 29
Way to go, Trains! Do you think that you can stand up to (1) Bikes? Well, yes, literally, I think a Train could take out a whole fleet of Bikes, but the ability to crush one another isn't a category in this Tournament. This round anyway....
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