Is biofuel really an alternative?

May 12, 2008

Everybody seems to be surprised that the advent of biofuels as a gasoline alternative has had an impact on not only the environment, but on the world food supply.

David Lorenz and David Morris from the Institute for Local-Self Reliance published some findings in 1995, but apparently nobody was listening.

In 2007, WCCO TV in Minnesota ran this piece called “Will Ethanol Fuel a Food Shortage?” http://wcco.com/topstories/good.question.ethanol.2.367063.html

Oh, and if you’re thinking of rushing out to stat farming for biofuels, think again. Or at least read this study from Rutgers about how to calculate the cost of farming.
The high costs of farming, compared with the high risk factors involved still make it hard for a small farmer to make a profit.

In addition to increasing the cost of everyday foods, the rush to produce more corn could impact even the oceans in a major way. The Dead Zone is a huge area of water - over 7,000 square miles – that forms every year as a result of nitrogen leaching from fertilized corn fields in the Midwest into the Mississippi river system. The nitrogen causes a huge algae bloom which then suffocates aquatic life in the area.

So bottom line. If we reach the expected production level of 15 Billion gallons of ethanol and we use over 285 Billion Gallons of gas/year, is the drop in the bucket worth it? Or should we be looking for some other options?

Filed Under Energy 

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