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Bio-Fuels - Angels of Death!

by Roger Lovejoy

Don't Grow It, Don't Invest In It, that's an order : )

Lets start by saying that we in the west will use other peoples land to grow our fuel crops further reducing their ability to feed themselves and raise their standard of living.

The best we can hope for biofuels is to reuse the waste we create that is otherwise unsuitable for composting - asif.

It's not that we won't grow it in the UK, we do.

Concerned? You should be!

• Loss of minerals for the soils
• Loss of structure -soil would become harder and less suitabel for growing
• Loss of bacterial life necessary for nutirent assimilation due to lack of food and habitat for the bacteria
• Loss of insects that live on the carbohydrates of the dead and decaying straw

• Whereas this could be true it is unlikely to happen and does not resolve the other more important losses
• To compensate for the losses there would be added cost in fertilisers, pesticides, mineral and soil improvers which would have to be either other biomass or mineral or plastic fibres.

• US : Ethanol vehicles may have worse effects on human health than conventional petrol, US scientists have warned.
  
  A computer model set up to simulate air quality in 2020 found that in some areas ozone levels would increase if all cars were run on bioethanol. Deaths from respiratory problems and asthma attacks would increase with such levels, the researchers reported in Environmental Science and Technology.
  
  Story from BBC NEWS:
   http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/health/6563255.stm 
  Published: 2007/04/18 05:02:27 GMT
  © BBC MMVII
  
  
• EU : European plans to promote so-called biofuels, fuels made from sugar or vegetable oils, have come under attack.
  
  Climate change experts claim that far from being environmentally friendly, the new fuels in fact pose a threat. They argue demand for biofuel crops is leading to tropical forests being cut down for palm oil.
  
  Story from BBC NEWS:
   http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/business/4607258.stm 
  Published: 2006/01/12 17:27:14 GMT
  © BBC MMVII
  
  
• UK :
  Biofuels : Green energy or grim reaper?
  A classic "good news-bad news" story.
  Penny wise but pound foolish.
  Many are calling biofuels "deforestation diesel". ..... biofuels - made by producing ethanol, an alcohol fuel made from maize, sugar cane, or other plant matter - may be a penny wise but pound foolish way of doing so.
  
  Calculations of energy return on investment need to include environmental impacts on soil, water, climate change, and ecosystem services. The bottom line is that biofuels can contribute to energy and environmental goals only as part of an overall strategy that includes energy conservation, a diversity of sustainable energy sources, greater efficiency in production and transport, and careful management of ethanol production.
  
  Story from BBC NEWS:
   http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/sci/tech/5369284.stm 
  Published: 2006/09/22 08:07:54 GMT
  © BBC MMVII
  
  

News of bio-fuel on the grow.

• UK - Malaysia: Burning palm oil fuels climate change Proposals by RWE npower to run the Littlebrook power station in Kent on palm oil have been criticised by Friends of the Earth. The group warned that use of palm oil as a biofuel threatens to exacerbate climate change, because it would lead to a major increase in demand for palm oil leading to even more rainforest destruction.
  
  Story from Friends of the Earth:
   Link to source at foe.co.uk
  Published: Aug 23 2006
  
  
• EU : Bio-fuel strategy a boon for farmers - Fischler
  European plans to promote so-called biofuels, fuels made from sugar or vegetable oils, have come under attack. Climate change experts claim that far from being environmentally friendly, the new fuels in fact pose a threat. They argue demand for biofuel crops is leading to tropical forests being cut down for palm oil.
  Meanwhile, the EU has conceded that it will miss its target of getting 5.75% of transport running on such fuels by 2010.
  
  Story from BBC NEWS:
   http://www.planetark.org/avantgo/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=12451  
  Published:Story Date: 19/9/2001
  
  
• SWEDEN : Inside the abattoir at Swedish Meats in Linkoping, the cows stood patiently, occasionally nuzzling the lens of our camera. From there, it was a short walk past the white-walled butchery, down the steps to the basement where the raw material for biogas, slid greasily down a chute.
  
  Story from BBC NEWS:
   http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/sci/tech/4373440.stm 
  Published: 2005/10/24 22:53:45 GMT
  © BBC MMVII
  
  
• UK : Wheat in Wessex, but not to eat. The Wessex Grain subsidiary Green Spirit Fuels has just been given planning permission to create one of Britain's first bioethanol plant, which will eventually convert 340,000 tonnes of locally grown wheat per year into 131 million litres of ethanol.
  
  Story from BBC NEWS:
   http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/business/4603272.stm 
  Published: 2006/01/17 23:54:51 GMT
  © BBC MMVII
  
  
• UK : Boost for biomass fuel crops. The UK is to encourage the production of biomass, crops grown specially for use as environmentally friendly fuels. The government is setting up a task force to stimulate biomass supply and demand, and offering a range of grants. Ministers hope this will help the UK to meet its targets for using renewable energy, and that it will also boost farming, forestry and the countryside. Material like miscanthus (a tall, woody grass), willow, poplar, sawdust, straw, and wood from forests are all suitable.
  
  Story from BBC NEWS:
   http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/sci/tech/3746554.stm 
  Published: 2004/10/19 11:53:58 GMT
  © BBC MMVII
  
  
• Malaysia : The RSPO is committed to deliver responsibly and sustainably produced palm oil to the world market following a rigorous set of principles, criteria and measurement indices that have been developed in an inclusive multi-stakeholder forum. We welcome all in boththe traditional and the renewable fuel sectors to join RSPO in our efforts. The RSPObelieves that the development of palm oil using sustainable practices is the criticalmission of our organization. Once available, the world market can then purchase this oil with the confidence that as world demand increases, RSPO palm oil will be produced ina socially and environmentally responsible and sustainable manner.
  
  Update from The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO)
  Received: May 2007.
  
  
• US to Brazil : US and Brazil seek to fuel friendship
  America and Brazil are to work together on bio-fuels, with the prospect of Brazil exporting its ethanol-producing technology to the US.
  Mr Obama made a speech in which he claimed that ''it does not serve our national and economic security to replace imported oil with Brazilian ethanol''.
  
  Story from BBC NEWS:
   http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6508843.stm  
  Published: 2007/03/30 12:36:07 GMT
  © BBC MMVII
  
  

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