In our world today, energy is one of the needs of people and is currently high in demand.

Energy is important to us and we could say that it is one of the driving factors that makes our
world moving. It makes our life much more comfortable and convenient. There are actually
many sources of energy that people are using but generally, people are mostly relying on fossil
fuels. However, it is a common knowledge that fossil fuels are not renewable and they are not
infinite and there would come a time where it would eventually run out. Because of that, people
have found an alternative that is a more environmentally friendly and renewable source of
energy. This energy is called biofuels. Biofuels have been around longer than cars but because
the cost of diesel and gasoline is much cheaper at the time, the demand for biofuels is low but
because of spikes in oil prices and increasing efforts to prevent the worst effects of climate
change, biofuels have once again risen (Nunez, 2019).

Biofuels are considered as a good alternative to fossil fuels and have a wide range of
advantages up its sleeve. The first one is it being an efficient fuel which is made from renewable
resources compared to fossil fuels which is finite and has more carbon emissions than the
biofuels. Another thing is that biofuels cost almost as much as typical gasoline does and as the
demand increases, it could become much cheaper in the near future. The next one is probably
one of the best advantages you could get from using biofuels and that is because it is easy to
source and renewable as previously stated above. Compared to gasoline which is made from
crude oil which happens to be a non-renewable resource, biofuels are made from many different
sources such as manure, waste from crops, and other byproducts which makes them easy to
replace by replanting or producing the raw materials needed for producing biofuels. Lastly is
that usage of biofuels will contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions up to 65%
and would result in lower levels of pollution (Conserve Energy Future, n.d).

Having all these advantages, we can conclude that biofuels are the best option for all
people. However, all things have consequences and this also applies to the usage of biofuels.
Using biofuels seems to be better but we also need to consider the downsides to it and its
application to other countries and if it applies to them. That is because our economy differs from
one another and while some may benefit from it, others might suffer from it instead of gaining. A
reason for that is although biofuels are efficient and may generate less greenhouse gas emissions
and lower levels of pollution, as stated by Butler (2020), producing biofuels tend to hurt the
poor. That is because of the increase in demand for crops. While this might be good for farmers
because of increase in price for crops, this in return is worse for the consumers who need to pay
more for food. Instead of producing crops only for human consumption, production of crops is
now also being done. In poor countries where people have little money, this just means that
many could go hungry. In addition, although it is stated that usage of biofuels tend to reduce
greenhouse gases, the process of making them is just as detrimental to the environment. Because
the demand for crops is increasing, farmers around the world convert lands into farmlands and
those lands that they used for farming are mostly once tropical rainforests. Because they are
cutting down trees, they are actually contributing to greenhouse gas emission and furthermore,
the destruction of the environment and ecosystems.

In conclusion, usage of biofuels is not the same and not good for everynone and this
applies to our own country, the Philippines, mostly. That is because our country is not that rich,
and production of this type of fuel is like a gamble to our economy.

References
Butler, Rhett A. Why are biofuels bad for rainforests? July 16, 2020.
https://kids.mongabay.com/elementary/biofuels.html (accessed December 17,
2020).

Future, Conserve Energy. Conserve Energy Future. n.d. https://www.conserve-energy-

future.com/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-biofuels.php (accessed December
17, 2020).

Nunez, Christina. National Geographic. July 15, 2019.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/biofuel/
(accessed December 17, 2020).