Biofuels: More Harm Than Good?

We had better do a quick reality check on biofuels. It may be doing much more harm than good. There is too much of a blind rush to praise the plant-to-energy phenom as our energy savior. As a result, its impacts on our biosphere are going ignored.

Consider:

• Deforestation of the Amazon is the result of the land rush to convert forests to biofuel producing farm land.
• Deforestation accounts for 20% of all carbon emissions.
• Demand for biofuels is jacking up food prices. The grain to fill up an SUV can feed one person for a year.
• Demand for land to grow biofuel crops “forces” the use of irrigation to grow crops on land. In Kansas, that means depleting the aquifers at an increased rate.

Researchers who once hailed biofuels as a strong solution for the energy/fuel crisis are now viewing their recommendations in horror. The problem with biofuels is simple. Using land to grow fuel leads to the destruction of forests, wetlands, and grasslands that store enormous amounts of carbon.

The answer is also simple, but we haven’t added 2+2 yet to figure out the answer. Policy makers must look at the entire equation. Biofuel and plug in electric vehicles result in burning carbon that gets into the atmosphere. Until we start getting all our energy from solar and wind, we are still participating in the problem. It’s time for a Manhattan project on steroids to solve our energy and climate change crisis. In the mean time, the below chart breaks down a reality check on biofuels.

A dramatic article on this topic can be found at:
www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1725975,00.html

Click here to see a great chart of biofuels.