How Biofuels Could Starve the Poor, Foreign Affairs, May/June 2007

[Clutch]

Yawl realize, that we have no control on what type of fuel is going to be use for energy for the masses. You can talk until your blue in the face...or should I say, type 'til your fingers bleed...it isn't going to change what the government and huge corporations are going to do.

On the other hand, on a personal level, you can make a choice on where your energy comes from. Like the saying goes, "Whatever makes you sleep better at night..."

 

[Ursidae69]

Another article came out similar to what Dave posted. This was in the New York Times on Friday. It cites data published in the Journal Science.

Biofuels Deemed a Greenhouse Threat

Just an example that comes from something I recently read. If the price of something like corn goes up, two things would seem to happen. First, the people issue where food could become no longer affordable. But, second the market now moves to increase corn production. That could mean in countries trying to keep up with the world economy you could see an increase in conversion to farm lands of places that are currently rainforests. So the move to a biofuel could paradoxically cause increased environmental damage, which has a secondary affect of further reducing the earth's ability to convert CO2 to oxygen as the rainforests are crucial for this and actually accelerating the presumed build up of greenhouse gases.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6636467.stm

 

[Metcalf]

Something like 75% of the corn that is grown is used to feed animals NOT people. Animals are better off eating the mash that comes off the ethanol production than the whole corn anyways. The ethanol process actually breaks down the starches in the corn to make the corn protein more digestible for the animals.

The assumption on ethanol yield vs fuel usage are GROSSLY wrong. The tractor life hours and fuel consumption per acre where way off.

Also, we haven't even begun to talk about cellulose ethanol with the corn stover. A corn plant produces the majority of its mass in the plant, not the corn.
This stover can also be used as biomass for energy generation at the ethanol plants. Hell, Brazil does it and they end up selling power back into the grid.

They are charging more for corn because they can...plain and simple.

There are LOTS of alternative fuel options out there. How much oil do you think those large companies sell farmers every year. Do you think they want to loose that money?

 

[stick]

Biofuel has been a hot topic around here. We've had many discussion about this in our office recently. Everyone pretty much agrees that biofuels are a good idea, but not the answer to all of our problems and corn is certainly not the best use of crop to make biofuel. Plants with a higher sugar content are much better fuels. Even rice is better than corn.

 

[tamangel]

another fuel source...

other than Solar, Wind and/or Hydro, this is a fuel source worth research:

Algae

http://www.unh.edu/p2/biodiesel/article_alge.html

Mike

 

[RHINO]

biofuels are comming along pretty good,, of course there is much improvement to be made in the future. of the options available to me i run strictly soy in my pig for its by product nature,, i am starting to run waste oil as it becomes more readily available in my area. i dont want to support any bio fuel that comes from a food source but our household has gasoline cars too. corn may not be impacted much on the food chain in ethanol production directly, but as more farmers drop other food crops in favor of corn that IS hurting the food chain. i am on the fence with corn ethanol,, on one hand i dont want to support it, but on the other we need to tell those companies out there that we want alt. fuels and the best way is with your wallet.... ohh what to do.