As the semester comes to an end and the holidays approach, many students will be driving miles to return home for the break.
    
“Going home has just become more expensive,” Elise Baskett, senior in psychology, said. “I’ve kind of accepted the fact that I have to do a lot of budgeting just to get home to Nashville.”
    
An increase in gas is a ramification of many factors, including the current American economy. Home-grown alternative fuel sources have been proposed as possible aids to the current economy and environmental problem.
    
“The biggest advantage of alternative fuel comes down to home-grown fuel sources,” Sam Jackson Ph.D., vice president of Feedstock Operations for Genera Energy, said.
    
Genera Energy and UT have been working together to create alternative fuels made from switchgrass, which can be grown on land that is not suitable for other crop production.
    
“Ultimately, switchgrass and other plant materials are simply sources of sugars to manufacture ethanol,” Jackson said. “These sugars come from cellulose, which is found in the walls of plant cells and is one of the most common organic compounds on earth.”
    
Most of the ethanol fuel created today comes from corn because it is easier to break down the sugar in the kernels. One disadvantage, however, is that a majority of the product is not used so a lot of biomass is wasted. In the production of switchgrass, the entire plant is used as a source for sugars found in cellulose instead of just one part, such as corn kernels.
    
“By using cellulose to create ethanol, a wide variety of new sources of sugar are available for ethanol production, and producers do not have to rely on a specific grain commodity (corn),” Jackson said.
    
Jackson believes such a resource for alternative fuel will help provide energy security, which he feels is extremely valuable.
   
 “We can increase our energy independence and security while contributing to rural economic development in the U.S. by growing biomass feedstocks for fuel, converting them and using them in local communities across the nation,” Jackson said.
   
 There are some disadvantages to switchgrass alternative fuels, which Jackson feels are due to consumer education and acceptance.
   
 “Ultimately, we have to more effectively educate the general public about biofuels and their positive impacts for there to be widespread adoption,” Jackson said. “We can do better with our engine technologies and automotive industry. These changes will take time, money and the simple will to change. Change is never easy and I see that as one of our biggest challenges.”
   
Much of the Southeast, including Knoxville, has shown an increase in the availability of E-85, the term for alternative fuels produced by companies like Genera.
    
“The Knoxville area has three E-85 stations available to the public,” Jackson said.
    
Even greater than the increase in the use of E-85 is the availability of flexfuel vehicles that can use gasoline or a higher blend of ethanol.
   
 “Lots of cars sold today can use anything from 100 percent gasoline to E-85,” Jackson said. “This has been a big improvement and will help increase the use of alternative fuels.”
    
Currently the U.S. is using about 14 to 15 billion gallons of ethanol per year. Although this is a large number, Jackson and many other alternative fuel supporters feel this is a long way to go before it trumps the 140 billion gallons of gasoline consumed per year.