ClimateGate news

Sunday, April 13, 2008

Gunter: Biofuel disaster

Lorne Gunter spells it out...

It turns out the production of biofuels such as ethanol and biodiesel is likely to cause far more environmental damage than it prevents, not to mention triggering widespread famine and eating up more rainforest and grassland than beef production ever could.

The production and consumption of biofuels releases far more carbon emissions than are prevented when ordinary gasoline and diesel are burned without first being mixed with corn or sugar cane derivatives.

Even the world’s first tentative steps towards increasing biofuel production has caused a doubling of annual deforestation rates in the Amazon.

According to Wetlands International, Indonesia has razed so much wilderness to grow palm oil trees for biodiesel that it has moved from the world’s 21st-biggest greenhouse gas emitter to third in just the past three years. Only China and the United States — in that order — generate more carbon emissions.
h/t: Jack

1 comment:

John Nicklin said...

But destroying the environment is ok if it means reducing CO2. When McDonalds was ripping down the rainforest to grow cows, the greens were apoplectic. Now that we are mowing it down to grow biofuel, its "a good thing" as Martha would say.

What screwed up logic encourages, even promotes, this kind of thinking?