Sunday, February 10, 2008

Oil Ain't So Bad


So much for the halo effect around ethanol and other biofuels.

It turns out that the impact of producing and using biofuels causes twice as many greenhouse gas emissions as petroleum-based fuels, according to two new studies published in the top-tier journal Science. (The Science studies aren’t up yet, but here’s the New York Times’ version of the story, and here’s the Washington Post’s.)

Biofuels produce fewer direct emissions. But growing the crops to make them displaces food crops, which forces farmers to clear more vegetation off the land to produce the food crops. The world’s rainforests are being destroyed especially quickly, the studies say.

I can't keep up with what's killing the planet. Since I was a small child (30 some years ago) there's been no consensus on what will kill us all. Some things never change.
Ethanol Blues.

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