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Bad Biofuels

http:// 2.bp.blogspot.com.jpg. http://www.theresilientearth.com/files/images/crop_irrigation.jpg. Frank Phillips John McCoy Calla Hagle. http ://whyamazonherb.com/AmazonDestruction2.jpg. Bad Biofuels. http://www.popsci.com/files/imagecache/article_image_small/articles/biofuel.jpg. Outline.

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Bad Biofuels

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  1. http://2.bp.blogspot.com.jpg http://www.theresilientearth.com/files/images/crop_irrigation.jpg Frank PhillipsJohn McCoyCalla Hagle http://whyamazonherb.com/AmazonDestruction2.jpg Bad Biofuels http://www.popsci.com/files/imagecache/article_image_small/articles/biofuel.jpg

  2. Outline • Main sources • Original Purpose • Our stance • Current use • Problems with biofuels • Net Energy Loss • Environmental Impacts • Health Risks • Reduced Food Supply Photo courtesy of: http://www.luc.edu/biodiesel/biofuels_lab.shtml

  3. Main Sources Photo courtesy of:http://www.equityenergyresources.com/ image/corn_field.jpg • Ethanol • Corn • Sorghum • Barley • Potato • Rice • Sugar cane • Sugar beets • Switchgrass • Biodiesel • vegetable oils • fats or greases Photo courtesy of: http://www.pnl.gov/edo/images/ newsletter/biodiesel_truck_sm.jpg Most come from crops specifically grown for energy use. Usually blended with the fossil fuels — gasoline and diesel. (Department of Energy 2010)

  4. Original Purpose of Biofuels Reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve air and water quality by reducing emissions, create revenue in the agricultural sector, support rural economies, and increase energy security (Werner 2003). FAIL!

  5. Our Stance Use of corn and other food crops for production of biofuels is wrong for both human and environmental health. Photo courtesy of: http://www.desmech.com/ wp-content/biofuel/Biofuel%20from%20Corn.jpg

  6. Current Use of Biofuels • Used in place of fossil fuels (Adams 2008) • Seen as sustainable (Cascio 2005) • Explosive growth of the corn ethanol industry in America’s Midwest (NREL 2010) Photo courtesy of: http://global-warming.accuweather.com/biofuel-thumb.gif

  7. Not a replacement... • Dedicating all U.S. corn and soybean production to biofuels would meet only 12% of the demand for gasoline and 6% of the demand for diesel (Hill et al. 2006). Photo courtesy of:https://www.eere-pmc.energy.gov/PMC_News/im ages/ethanol-pump-copy.jpg

  8. Net Energy Loss http://groovygreen.com/groove/wp-content/uploads/2007/04/ethanol.gif • The process of: • growing crops • making & spreading fertilizers and pesticides • harvesting & transporting crops • fermenting the crops into fuel It consumes a lot of energy!(Vanderkam 2007) Photo courtesy of: http://www.fromthewilderness.com/images/singer.jpg

  9. Greenhouse emissions Study by Fargione et al. 2008 • Corn based ethanol nearly doubles greenhouse emissions over 30 years • Biofuels from switchgrass increased emissions by 50% http://www.bigriverresources.com/images/DSCF0042.jpg

  10. Larger Carbon Footprint Study by Searchinger et al. 2008 • Compared biofuels and fossil fuels • When carbon cost is added to the equation biofuel actually increased greenhouse gases • Carbon cost: • previously stored carbon released • potential to remove carbon is now gone • conversion from food crops to biofuel crops increases demand for more agriculture worldwide

  11. Land use change • Converting forests and grasslands to new farm land to replace the food American farmers have diverted to biofuels. • Rainforests in Southeast Asia for palm oil (Cascio 2005) • Rainforests in Brazil for soya plants (Cascio 2005) • Threatens endangered species (Kennedy 2007) Photo courtesy of: http://www.unique-southamerica-travel-e xperience.com/images/scarlet-macaws.jpg http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1195/1470195542_7c4d2cc092.jpg?v=0

  12. Rising Demand and Higher Gas Prices • Increased demand for biofuel production • 2009- US mandated 136 billion liters of biofuels by 2022 • High gas prices (Fargione et al. 2009) Photo courtesy of: http://www.treehugger.com/high-gas-prices-photo.jpg

  13. Fertilizers and Pesticides • Increase in biofuel production = increase in crop production • Larger amounts of agricultural fertilizers and pesticides used • Fertilizers and pesticides cause • Eutrophication in waterways • Loss of biodiversity • Increase in nitrate in drinking water wells (Hill et al. 2006)

  14. Eutrophication • Nitrogen from pesticides flowing and leeching into the Mississippi watershed • Leading contributors to the “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico • Nitrogen can cause algal blooms which deplete oxygen leading to dead zones. (Hill et al. 2006) Photo courtesy of: http://www.theomnivoresdialog.com/images/2008/03/24/dead_zone.jpg

  15. Eutrophication • In 2007 • Dead zone was 65% larger than in previous years (1990-2006) • With drastically increasing amounts of biofuel production • Federal governments goal to reduce Gulf of Mexico dead zone to 5,000 km² will be nearly impossible (Fargione et al. 2009)

  16. CRP Losses • Concerns about loss of gains in CRP program • Increased demand for biofuels has encouraged farmers to convert CRP land back to agricultural use • Increase in soil erosion, decrease water quality, and decease wildlife habitat Photo courtesy of: http://www.garyengbergoutdoors.com/blog/wp-content/pheasant.jpg Photo courtesy of: http://media.publicbroadcasting.net/wuky/newsroom/images/3338954.jpg

  17. CRP Losses • Henslow’s Sparrow (Ammodramushenslowii) • Tied to amount of CRP • In North and South Dakota • 2 million birds of 5 grassland nesting species would be lost if CRP lands were absent (Fargione et al.) http://www.houstonaudubon.org/default.aspx?act=newsletter.aspx&newsletterid=861&category=Bird%20Gallery&MenuGroup=Profiles&

  18. CRP Losses • Food, Conservation, and Energy Act - 2008 • Cap on total allowable CRP land: 12.9 million hectors • However, no minimum • In Iowa • Economic analysis predicted 49-61% loss of CRP lands • An estimated 1.4 million hectors of CRP lands expected to expire by 2012 (Fargione et al. 2009)

  19. Health Risks The gasification process releases volatile organic compounds • Acetaldehyde • Formaldehyde (possible carcinogens) • carbon monoxide (Searchinger et al. 2008) Photo courtesy of: http://cdn.sheknows.com/articles/Polution_linked_cancer.JPG

  20. Reduces World Food Supply • Since January 2007, the USDA's index of all crop prices has climbed by 44% (Kilman 2008). • Food rationing in Sam’s Club (Adams 2008) • Millions of people around the world facing starvation because they can’t afford food (Mitchell 2008) • Riots in Haiti and Bangladesh • Rice prices have tripled (Adams 2008) • Is it ethical to fuel your car with food while people starve? Photo courtesy of:http://www.povertyterminators.com/images/ikombe-hunger-starvation-donation-project.jpg

  21. Literature Cited Adams, M. 2008. The Biofuels Scam, Food Shortages and the Coming Collapse of the Human Population. Available from http://www.naturalnews.com/023091_food_bubble_shortages.html. (Accessed Nov. 2010) Cascio, Jamias. 2005. The Biofuel Dilemma. World Changing: Bright Green. Available from www.worldchanging.com/archives/003786.html. (Accessed Oct. 2010) Department of Energy. 2010. Biofuels: Ethanol and Biodiesel. Available from http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/energyexplained/index.cfm?page=biofuel_home . (Accessed Nov 2010) Fargione, J. E., T. R. Cooper, D. J. Flashpohler, J. Hill, C. Lehman, T. McCoy, S. Mcleod, E. J. Nelson, K. S. Oberhauser, D. Tilman. 2009. Bioenergy and wildlife: threats and opportunities for grassland conservation. Bioscience 59:767-777. Fargione, J., J. Hill, D. Tilman, S. Polasky, P. Hawthorne. 2008. Land clearing and the biofuel carbon debt. Science 319: 1235. Hill, J., E. Nelson, D. Tilman, S. Polasky, D. Tiffany. 2006. Environmental, economic, and energetic costs and benefits of biodiesel and ethanol biofuels. National Academy of Science 103:11206-11210. Kennedy, D. 2007. The biofuels conundrum. Science 316:515. Kilman, S. 2008. Rising food costs further pressure world hunger. The Wall Street Journal 252: 8. Mitchell, Donald. 2008. A Note on Rising Food Prices. World Bank Policy Research Working Paper Series 4682: 1-21. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). 2010. Biofuels. U.S. Department of Energy. Available from http://www.nrel.gov/learning/re_biofuels.html (accessed November 2010). Paul, Helena and AlmuthErnsting. 2010. Second Generation Biofuels: An Unproven Future Technology with Unknown Risks. Available from http://www.biofuelwatch.org.uk/inf_paper_2g-bfs.pdf. (Accessed Nov. 2010) Searchinger, T., R. Heimlich, R. A. Houghton, F. Dong, A. Elobeid, J. Fabiosa, S. Tokgoz, D. Hayes, T. H. Yu. 2008. Use of U.S. croplands for biofuels increases greenhouse gases through emissions from and-use change. Science 319:1238. Vanderkam, L. 2007. Biofuels or bio-fools? The American: Journal of the American Enterprise Institute. Available from http://www.american.com/archive/2007/may-june-magazine-contents/biofuels-or-bio-fools (accessed November 2010). Werner, C. 2003. Biofuels: background. Environmental and Energy Study Institute, Washington, D.C. Available from http://nybiofuels.info/generalInformation/Documents/background.of.bio fuels.pdf (accessed November 2010).

  22. Questions? http://transitionculture.org/wp-content/uploads/biofuels-cartoon.jpg

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