Information Related to "Biofuels Might Be "Bio-folly""
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Biofuels Might Be "Bio-folly"For a mix of reasons, the world's largest energy consumers have joined the biofuel revolution. With fortunes already invested, they are now discovering that it's not the clear winner it once seemed to be. Would you be surprised to learn that God is a factor in whether it succeeds?by Cecil E. MaranvilleAmidst skyrocketing crude oil prices and a populist political fervor to "go green," many nations have launched into huge biofuel production programs. That includes the energy consuming giants of the United States, the European Union, Japan and China. Initially, the idea of replacing oil with biofuels looked rosy, a win-win proposition. But many problems have surfaced, including higher than anticipated costs, less than anticipated energy efficiency and more complicated than thought distribution challenges. David Pimentel, a Cornell University professor who has studied biofuels for 20 years, says when you take into consideration the added fossil fuel used to manufacture fertilizers and herbicides needed to grow corn (the main source of U.S. ethanol), it actually takes more fossil fuel to produce ethanol than it replaces in the gas tank. Moreover, ethanol production requires a great deal of water, a resource in shorter and shorter supply worldwide. "Ethanol companies [in the United States] are near break-even at best," says Ron Oster, a principal at Broadpoint Capital Inc. in Albany, New York ("Ethanol Stalls Out for Investors," The Baltimore Sun, Nov. 20, 2007). Yet the United States and the European Union continue to surge forward with biofuel plans. The U.S. Department of Energy reports that the federal government currently has 20 laws and incentives to boost ethanol use; 49 states offer additional subsidies and supports. The EU has mandated that 10 percent of all fuels must come from ethanol by 2010. Shocked by secondary consequences, China actually announced a moratorium on its ethanol production and use this summer. The rising cost of feed caused a 43 percent spike in the cost of pork, the country's staple meat. Energy and economic security illusive National security is high on the list of reasons for nations to get on the biofuel bandwagon in order to be as free as possible from a dependence upon potentially unstable sources of oil. Japan finds itself doubly pressured. Because it grows only 40 percent of its food, it lacks the resources to produce biofuels and must import them too. So, it is merely trading its dependence upon other nations for oil for a dependence upon others for biofuels. An additional question is whether an alternative fuel to oil would in the long run actually make the United States more dependent upon foreign oil. The false sense of security it gives would remove the needed incentive for the United States to develop domestic oil sources or to expand refining capacity at home. Less affluent countries hoped to cash in on the biofuel surge through their poor family farmers growing and selling some of the needed crops. But this hasn't happened the way it was expected, either. Sensing large profit potentials, the world's colossal food producers are buying big tracts of land in poor countries to produce the cash crops, squeezing out the small farmers. In the rush to clear the land, the large-scale producers are burning forests and peat. Brazil, which has been the leader in biofuel production and use, is creating heavy pollution. Cane farmers (Brazil's ethanol comes from sugar cane) typically burn the fields before harvest to kill snakes in it and to make it easier to cut. Brazilian producers are also razing additional forest land in a rush to increase their ethanol for the export market. Environmentalists warn that deforestation will eventually lead to soil erosion and leaching of nutrients. More immediately, it pours tons of carbon emissions into the atmosphere! Seismic shift in food prices Currently, ethanol biofuel can be made from corn, potatoes, sugar cane, sugar beets and sorghum—all of which are food or feedstock crops. Biodiesel can be made from grease wastes, animal fats and various vegetable oils (corn, canola, sunflower, palm, cottonseed and soy), but most of it also comes from food crops. EU ethanol comes from corn too. American biodiesel comes from soybeans, while the EU principally uses rapeseed (canola). This is causing a profound ripple effect in food markets, as prices soar. Food industries from cereal makers to meat and poultry producers have to pay more for grains. Critics of biofuels point out that increased food costs more than offset any hoped for decrease in one's budget for fueling his vehicles. The most serious biofuel backlash is a lack of food for the hungry. Some argue that there is enough food, but the facts seem to show otherwise. Food-for-the-poor programs report greatly increased costs and lower donations of corn. The average tonnage of U.S. international food aid dropped 52 percent from 2001 to 2006, reports Marcia Merry Baker in the June 8, 2007, issue of Executive Intelligence Review. Baker also cites perhaps the most publicized shock to the food markets: The 60 percent jump in the price of corn for tortillas in Mexico. Also, "Cheese and milk powder prices doubled in the past year as demand rose and a surge of biofuel crops cut arable land available for food production" (Gavin Evans, "Fonterra May Sell NZ$2.5 Billion Stock as Milk Soars," Bloomberg.com, Nov. 20, 2007). Farmers who sell these crops are delighted with the price increase they're enjoying, and they're rushing to put more land into production. Farm equipment manufacturers and dealers are also reaping an immediate windfall from the shifting market. However, they may be in for a shock. The United States is urgently pursuing the development of cellulosic biofuel (fuel manufactured from cellulose, a carbohydrate that forms the main component in the cell wall of most plants), in the hopes of abandoning the use of food or feedstock crops. The federal government is making hundreds of millions of dollars in research grants available. A Canadian company just announced a joint venture with a Minnesota ethanol co-op to build a 10-million-gallon-per-year cellulosic plant in Minnesota; they are already talking about expanding the plant's annual output to 50 million gallons. A swing to cellulosic ethanol would cause the profitability of the food/feedstock-crop ethanol economy to evaporate. If this happens, it should bring some relief to food prices, however. But what about the long-term effects of converting "biomass" (plant material, vegetation or agricultural waste) into cellulosic ethanol? It is now evident that few concerned themselves with the long-term consequences of switching to biofuels. Some biomass is simply waste material, but much would have gone back to the soil. If it is converted to fuel, will soil quality suffer? United Nations singing a different tune As recently as June 2006, the United Nations was touting biofuels: "A domestic biofuels industry can create jobs, increase income in rural areas, and reduce the need for costly imports of foreign oil… [And] biofuels are the most promising near term renewable energy alternative for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the transportation sector" ("The United Nations Biofuels Initiative," www.unfoundation.org, p. 1). Now, however, even the UN is shouting, "Not so fast!" In early May, the UN released a comprehensive report compiled by 20 UN agencies and programs. Read these highlights from an MSNBC summary of problems the UN now sees with biofuel production: • Rapid growth will make substantial demands on the world's land and water resources. • Burning forests and peat lands might offset some or all of the benefits of greenhouse gas reductions. • Use of large-scale monocropping would lead to significant biodiversity loss, soil erosion and nutrient leaching. • The diversion of crops for fuel will increase food prices, putting a strain on the poor, as evidenced by the recent steep rise in maize and sugar prices. • Liquid biofuel production could threaten the availability of food supplies, since biofuel crops demand the best land, much water and environment-damaging chemical fertilizers. Joel K. Bourne Jr. reports in National Geographic: "Biofuels as currently rendered in the U.S. are doing great things for some farmers and for agricultural giants like Archer Daniels Midland and Cargill, but little for the environment. Corn requires large doses of herbicide and nitrogen fertilizer and can cause more soil erosion than any other crop. And producing corn ethanol consumes just about as much fossil fuel as the ethanol itself replaces. Biodiesel from soybeans fares only slightly better. "Environmentalists also fear that rising prices for both crops will push farmers to plow up some 35 million acres of farmland now set aside for soil and wildlife conservation, potentially releasing even more carbon found in fallow fields" ("Green Dreams," Oct. 2007, p. 41). Nations today are driven by the need to secure their fuel sources. Troubles in the Middle East, as well as unstable governments in other oil-producing nations, are constant reminders of the uncertainty of supply. In contrast, the Bible foretells a world unencumbered by politics and warring religious or ethnic factions; a world whose citizens are motivated by a desire for good for everyone! Does this sound too good to be true? Who knew the Bible was so relevant? The Bible's relevancy is forever astonishing to people who take a hard look at it and consider its meaning. Two monumental issues about biofuels are water and crop productivity. If a region had ample water to meet the needs of its population and if it had ample crop production to feed its population, as well as a surplus to use for manufacturing biofuels, the world could easily "go green" with ethanol. How does the Bible relate to these factors? Anciently, God promised: "If you are guided by my rules, and keep my laws and do them, then I will give you rain at the right time, and the land will give her increase and the trees of the field will give their fruit; and the crushing of the grain will overtake the cutting of the grapes, and the cutting of the grapes will overtake the planting of the seed, and there will be bread in full measure, and you will be living in your land safely" (Leviticus 26:3-5, Bible in Basic English). Notice that this is a matter of a covenant, rather than of merely promise. It includes obligations on the part of humankind and promised benefits from the Creator. The prophecy continues laying out the profitable consequences of obeying God, and then it presents the losses that would result from overconfident disobedience. It's easy to assume that the crops will continue to come in when there is abundance. It's easy to throw caution to the wind and to pursue liberal morality when one's wallet and belly are full. But our Father warns that if in spite of all the chances He gives us to change our behavior "you still will not listen and be obedient to Me, then…I will break and humble your pride in your power, and I will make your heavens as iron [yielding no answer, no blessing, no rain] and your earth [as sterile] as brass. And your strength shall be spent in vain, for your land shall not yield its increase, neither shall the trees of the land yield their fruit" (verses 18-20, Amplified Bible). Perhaps the single greatest threat to the biofuel industry is a shortage of water. Those who want the world to "go green" should be aware of the fact that they also need to "go God." We're not predicting biofuel use in the world to come, but rather we're analyzing today's news in the light of the Bible. Is the concept of a covenant relationship with the Eternal God new to you? Where do you stand personally? Read our excellent booklet to see how necessary and how valuable God's law of love is to our lives. WNP |
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