Related Posts
Bad Biofuel: Rainforest destruction gets green light at European pumps
Malaysian palm oil lobbyists have apparently succeeded in keeping – and even increasing – the amount of biodiesel...
Promising developments in Europe’s ‘biofuel blunder’?
I guess that learning on the job is better than not learning at all.
According to a piece in...
Biofuel from garbage
So-called ‘second generation’ biofuels are fuels derived from biomass which do not come primarily from food sources and...
Switchgrass – America’s own biofuel. But is it any good?
In previous pieces we’ve looked at biofuels in general and at some different examples like the plainly lousy...
Bad biofuel breakdown: Efforts to ‘Green up’ palm oil face too many blocksThe Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil – or RSPO – is an organization made up of companies involved...
Get your Eco Starter Kit
Create an account and start harvesting Carbon Credits! Exchange your Carbon Credits for green goodies, like the Eco-Hatchery Starter Kit!
-
Green network users
2,985 Users - Show All
Green Directory
Tip of the Day
Keep eggs out of the fridge to save energy when cooking them
Fuel, food or fraud: New study on the ethics of biofuel
Can a new generation of biofuels ensure we don’t increase greenhouse gas emissions and take food from the poor to fuel our cars?
–Guardian
photo by David Reverchon (source: Flickr Creative Commons)
The issues surrounding biofuels are complicated and confusing. While all biodiesel or ethanol burns cleaner than fossil fuels, some biofuel production creates as many or more greenhouse gas emissions than regular gasoline or petrol. Biodiesel from palm oil, for example, turned out to be environmentally hazardous due to the utilization of slash and burn agriculture and clearing of rainforests in Indonesia and Malaysia. In some cases, crops which are traditionally food sources are used to make biofuel, resulting in an ethical quandary commonly known as the ‘food vs. fuel’ debate.
Among ‘first generation’ biofuels, sugarcane seemed to come out looking pretty good, while corn, soy and palm are generally seen as being on the bad side. Second generation biofuels sourced from algae and biomass show promise as they do not use food sources or traditional agricultural means. As technology progresses within the industry, hopefully biodiesel producers and innovators will learn from the mistakes of the past.
Read more about the new ethics of biofuel in this blog from the Guardian.
by Graham Land
Additional resources:
Switchgrass – America’s own biofuel. But is it any good?
The biofuels controversy continues: should we get off the bandwagon?
Palm oil = bogus ‘biodiesel’ – Indonesia now world’s 3rd highest emitter of greenhouse gasses
Tags: biodiesel, biofuel, emissions, ethic, food, fuel, greenhouse, Guardian, Indonesia, oil, palm
Other Greenfudge.org posts
Melting Ice Open Northeast Passage
The once- mythical Northeast Passage, which links Asia to Europe via the Arctic, is now a reality, thanks to climate change. Previously, the route was only available during warmer seasons, about 2 months out of the year and even then, ice breakers were utilized to allow ships to pass through. However, recent satellite pictures have shown that it is now possible to traverse this route without the need for additional equipment. Two German commercial ships, the MV “Beluga Fraternity” and the...
Animal suicide – are they ‘just like us’?
In The Cove, the Oscar winning documentary on Japanese dolphin slaughter, activist and former dolphin trainer Richard O'Barry claims that he witnessed one of his dolphins commit suicide by self-suffocation. This event was a major turning point in O'Barry's life and spurred his transformation from someone who kept dolphins into someone who rescues them. The idea of animals voluntarily killing themselves is a long-debated subject, as an article in Time magazine explores: The Romans saw animal suicide as both natural and noble;...
Ban on bluefin tuna fails at endangered species convention
The threatened bluefin tuna will not be granted protected status. Japan and Canada opposed a ban on international trade on bluefin for economic reasons and received support from many developing nations. The Guardian reports that the vote at the UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in Qatar tallied 172 member nations against the ban, with 43 in favor and 14 abstentions. The proposed trade ban was introduced by Monaco and had the support of the United States, Norway...
Arctic melt powers vicious warming circle, scientists say
Arctic temperatures have risen twice as fast in recent decades as temps in the rest of the world. Melting sea ice – considered part of a positive feedback loop – as well as wind, cloud and ocean current changes have been suspected of driving this rapid warming, known as Arctic amplification. A positive feedback loop is a system where the cause and effect perpetuate one another, like a vicious circle. A new study shows that Arctic warming from melting sea ice may...
The green argument for cities
High population density equals less waste, fewer emissions and more efficient use of resources. In short, urban living is more environmentally friendly than rural or suburban lifestyles. This is the argument of David Owen, author of the book Green Metropolis: What the City Can Teach the Country About True Sustainability. This isn't an argument that naturally corresponds with typical images of environmentalists: fresh air-breathing activists who have abandoned the cities for solar powered houses with organic vegetable patches and compost toilets....
New Stainless Steel Bottles Brought to You by: WaterGeeks
Yes, there is yet another type of water bottle out now and so far, this one seems to be different from the rest. WaterGeeks, a global water crisis-fighting company based in Western Canada, came out with a bottle that has its own filter system. While this filter system is not very useful in the great outdoors, it is very handy for those who live in towns or cities. The filters of these bottles are specifically for removing things like lead, chlorine...
Rich, green, urban – Copenhagen’s “hedonistic sustainability”
Young architects in Copenhagen, Denmark are designing buildings and infrastructure that aim to be environmentally sound without sacrificing a bit of the convenience and pleasure that is synonymous with an affluent urban lifestyle. Can the residents of the Danish capital have their cake and eat it too? Award-winning architect Bjarke Ingels of BIG seems to think so. He believes the way towards sustainability is not by inconveniencing people, but rather by re-engineering the structures of society to make them less wasteful. From the...
Don’t Expect a Global Treaty on Climate Change This Year
Well, it seems one of our worst environment fears has been confirmed. A climate change treaty will most likely not happen this year. According to UN climate chief, Yvo de Boer, there is not enough time to recover from December’s disappointing summit. He believes more time is needed to establish a framework, as well as financial and climate change aid that is capable of convincing developing countries to even support a deal. He also noted that the focus should shift towards...
Give the Trees a Voice: Become Part of the Rulemaking Process That Protects US National Forests
I have been reading The Lord of the Rings lately. One of my favorite characters from these books is Treebeard (or Fangorn—and the rest of the Ents). Not only are the Ents tree-like in appearance, but Tolkien did an awesome job at showing us how important they are to the world, even without us realizing it. They provide us with shelter and protection, food and nourishment, and even wisdom and council. They will listen to us talk when no one...
Videos of China’s oil spill and cleanup
Here are two video reports on the oil spill cleanup efforts in China’s Yellow Sea. Two oil pipelines exploded on the 16th of this month in the major port city of Dalian in northern China, resulting in a massive fire and the largest oil spill in Chinese history. The pipelines have now been repaired, but the environmental damage of the spill will be felt for years to come. The oil has polluted an area of 430 sq km. The first video is a...
View all articles
You can also log in to post a comment.