Environmentalists are well aware that there are major problems with making biofuels from corn or from other food crops. What they are pushing for is conservation and development of sources of energy other than fossil fuels, certainly NOT jumping to biofuels as a total replacement for fossil fuels. You could convert all the arable land on earth to production of biofuels and it would not be enough to meet the energy demands as they are right now, and we'd all starve. Trust environmentalists to have at least that much sense.

Biofuels from corn took off as oil became increasingly expensive. It would be an improvement to make biofuels out of crops other than food crops (switchgrass is most often mentioned), but until technology for that improves, corn is easier/cheaper and makes certain farmers happy. But I don't think you'll ever hear a well-informed environmentalist say that biofuels, from ANY source, are the total answer.

I'm not sure how government is forcing people to use biofuels. Neither I nor most other people I know have used any yet.

Global Food Crisis: The Fury of the Poor - International - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News
The above sums up the basic underlying causes of why the world is facing a food crisis. It can be condensed into four words; more people less food. Our breakneck pace of development and population expansion is running headlong into the reality of limits to growth. The question now is will we have the intellegence to reduce our unsustainable consumption of finite earth resources in time to sidestep a worldwide catastophe? In Hati people are now eating dirt mixed with vegetable oil.

That the Bush administration is massively supporting Ethanol from corn should be a clear indication that environemtally it's got to be a bad thing. So much for "appeasing environmentalists". This does not appease anyone appart from Washington Lobbyists, in this case from the agrarian sector, as usual...

On another note, I am against the way the US is handling bio-fuels. Bio-fuels make a certain amount of sense when locally produced and consumed, and by locally I mean communitywise, not countrywise, but most certainly not when mass-produced and again shipped all across the world before being used like the US but also the EU proposes. We're trying to get away from that kind of economy, remember? The draughts and the like in Austrlia and so on are also putting enormous pressure on food prices, it's not just the biofuel craze.

As to the costs of fighting Global warming - the costs of not doing anything are estimated to be around 20 times larger. So what's it gonna be? Invest 1% of GDP annually to make a smooth transition into a not only environmentally sustainable economy, or 20% of GDP but...nothing in return?

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I am basing it on the enviromentalists I have known.

Well, that is nice. I, of course never claimed that enviromentalistS said that biofuel were the total answer.

I did say that the enviromentalist push for biofuels are the reason we are legislating for them and thus responsible for part of the food crisis.




Goverment force?




Energy - New and Renewable Energies - Legislation

Automotive World - Belgium: EU planning new biofuels legislation

Yes, because as a Republican part of his platform is to destroy the enviroment.

Funny the way the EU is moving on this in a similar fashion.




Well, I am against it too. And from what I have posted it sounds like the EU is doing more than just proposing.




Were did I say that the biofuel was the sole cause?!



I will look at this later.

I don't see how it has anything to do with Republicans. It just seems to be part of the Bush/Cheney strategy to do everything the worst possible way. Don't blame the entire GOP for the morons in the White House atm.

Indeed, and I hate to be part of it. Here in Austria we have, as I shortly indicated, a couple of local programs (the Eastern Styria Energy Region is one) where biofuels are produced from used vegetable oil (kindly sponsored in large part by McDonalds btw ) which allows my home city of Graz to power the entire public transport buses with this alternative fuel. That's the way to do it. Biofuels of the third generation (essentiall using any and all forms of organic stuff, hopefully mostly waste which the amount of that's thrown away every day is staggering) are also promising.

But the current biofuel craze out of palm trees or corn is a catastrophe on every imaginable level, starting environmentally but also economically and even energetically.

It's a terrible shame the EU has not halted their goal for upping biofuel % in the Union. Thankfully some countries like Germany have done so, which is the only right thing to do.

You didn't. You very clearly pointed out in your first post it's not. I never intended to insinuate anything different.

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You may want to expand your information base. Environmentalists come in all shades of green and have widely varying viewpoints. As an example, I support the protection of wildlife habitat, but I have been both a hunter and trapper. I have written and lobbied to prohibit the use of aircraft to kill wolves, but I see nothing wrong with well managed hunting and trapping of wolves. Too many assume that environmentalists/conservationists are all bleeding heart liberals who unrealistically want us all to return to a replica of the Garden of Eden and make assumptions based on these simplistic impressions. You will find environmentalists in virtually every phase of society including the oil industry, agriculture, sportsmen, politics, religion, education, etc.

The food crisis will only get worse before it gets any better.Be prepared for more shortages in the future.

You life in the US. Neither you nor I even know what "shortage" really means.

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