Earth Island Institute

America, as even President Bush acknowledges, is addicted to oil. If so, then biofuels are little better than methadone.

Our addiction to oil is quite obviously dangerous. It is one of the primary sources of the unchecked carbon emissions that are altering the Earth’s atmosphere. It contributes to the pollution of our air and water. It has badly skewed US foreign policy and helps explain why more than 150,000 soldiers are fighting in Iraq. Like junkies, we are oblivious to the damage we inflict on ourselves.

In an attempt to deal with the consequences of our oil addiction, politicians and corporate leaders have trumpeted the promise of biofuels — energy sources made from plant matter.

But as a raft of studies has shown, biofuels carry their own costs. The rush for biofuel production is driving deforestation as companies raze rainforests to plant sugarcane or palm plantations. US farmers are compromising agricultural conservation practices to plant as much corn as possible; increased plowing may actually increase greenhouse gas emissions. Globally, the competition between using grains for food or fuel is contributing to skyrocketing prices for staple goods. Biofuels may, for a time, help transition some percentage of vehicles away from petroleum, but they are not a long-term answer. Methadone indeed.

Evidently, the US Congress didn’t get the memo. The recently approved Farm Bill actually increases the amount of government investment in biofuels. As a growing chorus of critics warns about the downsides of biofuels, lawmakers are delivering $1 billion in new government funding to the industry. This give myopia a bad name.

There is no question that we need better ways of transporting products and people. The twin tests of global climate change and peak oil mean we have little time left to wean ourselves away from fossil fuels. With oil at $135 a barrel and global temperatures climbing, the clock is ticking fast.

But we won’t discover a single “killer application” that will resolve our fuel crisis. The short-sighted focus on biofuels reveals the folly of thinking we will find some silver bullet solution to our energy challenges. Building a sustainable transportation system will require a technological sophistication that recognizes that the only real solution lies in embracing a range of solutions.

There is no single road to sustainable future. Rather, there are many different ways to approach the green economy: While some people take the train, others may bike, or walk, or decide to carpool in a plug-in hybrid vehicle.

This multiplicity of solutions is all part of the fun. And good reason to finally break the habit.

 

Comments

while carpool in a plug-in hybrid vehicle is a good idea, we need to look for alternative source of energy

By car parts on 2008 06 15

---

while carpool in a plug-in hybrid vehicle is a good idea, we need to look for alternative source of energy
car parts

By car parts on 2008 06 15

---

Leave a comment