Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search

December 2, 2008 9:43:33 AM CST

Learn about Newser Points »

« Back to the grid | Next story »

Black News for Not-So-Green Biofuels

Posted Feb 8, 08 3:54 AM CST in Science & Health 

(Newser) – Producing crops for biofuel releases more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere than is saved by using the alternative energy, according to the findings of two surprising new studies. Converting US farmland from producing food to ethanol necessitates food production elsewhere, vastly increasing greenhouse gas emissions as forests and grasslands are destroyed to make fields. The findings prompted 10 scientists to write to President Bush and lawmakers, urging new policy "that ensures biofuels are not produced on productive" forests, grassland or cropland.

 “It’s a little frightening to think that something this well-intentioned might be very damaging,” said an author of one of the studies, which were both published in Science. "We're rushing into biofuels, and we need to be very careful." One of the studies found that a US cornfield that produces ethanol would achieve a net reduction in emissions only after 167 years.

Source Los Angeles Times

0 comments | Print E-mail | Digg Seed this on Newsvine Add this link to Del.icio.us StumbleUpon

Related Newser Stories

  • US Farmers See Leaner Times in Stormy Market

    Oct 22, 08 1:20 PM CDT
    US Farmers See Leaner Times in Stormy Market Plunging crop prices and soaring costs are hitting US farmers with a one-two punch that’s knocked the fight out of what had been one of the stronger segments of the nation’s economy, reports the Wall Street Journal. Corn prices have dropped some 50% since July, and prices for fertilizer and seed are expected to jump 40% next year. More »

  • Biofuels Not Worth Upward Push on Food Prices: UN

    Oct 7, 08 4:33 PM CDT
    Biofuels Not Worth Upward Push on Food Prices: UN While use of biofuels is supposed to combat climate change, the effects of its production on food prices is not worth the emissions they offset, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization said today. The FAO called for countries to review production quotas and subsidies that encourage biofuel use in light of the “continued upward pressure” on the price of agricultural goods, the Financial Times reports. More »

  • My Car Runs on ... Cuervo?

    Aug 7, 08 8:14 PM CDT
    My Car Runs on ... Cuervo? A small group of Mexican scientists is working to create a massive agave-to-ethanol project that one says could supply the entire US need of 36 billion gallons by 2022, Renewable Energy World reports. The agave, used to make tequila and mescal, is high in sugar, resilient, and needs little cultivation, making it a prime candidate for ethanol production. More »

  • EPA Refuses to Lower Ethanol Quota

    Aug 7, 08 2:50 PM CDT
    EPA Refuses to Lower Ethanol Quota The EPA refused to cut a minimum ethanol quota today, despite critics’ charges that the biofuel mandate is driving high food prices, the New York Times reports. The agency approved Congress’ quota that requires the US use 9 billion gallons of ethanol in gasoline blends this year, denying Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s request to shrink it.
    More »

  • Corn-Hungry Texas Calls for Cuts in Biofuel Mandates

    Jul 23, 08 2:32 AM CDT
    Corn-Hungry Texas Calls for Cuts in Biofuel Mandates The EPA is considering a proposal from the governor of Texas to slash the amount of ethanol that oil companies are required to blend into gasoline to meet quotas, the New York Times reports. Gov. Rick Perry is calling for the EPA to cut the ethanol mandate in half, from 9 billion to 4.5 billion gallons, arguing that billions of bushels of corn should be used to feed livestock instead. More »

A dump wagon adds freshly gathered corn cobs to a pile on a farm near Hurley, S.D., Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2007. Poet is testing various cob gathering methods as part of the company's effort to make cellulosic...   (Associated Press)
Corn-and-soybean farmer John Adams walks past corn storage silos on his 950-acre farm Thursday, April 5, 2007, near Atlanta, Ill. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green, file)   (Associated Press)
A handful of corn is shown before it is processed at the Tall Corn Ethanol plant in Coon Rapids, Iowa in this May 24, 2006 file photo. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, file)   (Associated Press)
Jarrod Flores works on a dryer cover at an ethanol refinery being built by South Dakota-based Poet LLC in Portland, Ind. in this April 17, 2007 file photo. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings, file)   (Associated Press)
A combine hitched with a Cob Caddy gathers corn and cobs while blowing stover back into the field on a farm near Hurley, S.D. in this Oct. 30, 2007 file photo. The equipment was being tested by Poet as...   (Associated Press)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
Our editors also recommend:

Related links

Threads (
1
 of 2)

Tags

climate change • global warming • biofuel • ethanol • corn • farmland


Loading...

Premium Articles from HighBeam

Find more articles like this

Today's Most Popular

Loading...

Other Science & Health Stories

What is Newser?

2008 Codie Finalist

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser a team of editors and writers culls the most important stories from hundreds of U.S. and international sources and reduces them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. It's the Newser guarantee: we can take any report or column or video and pack what you need to know into 120 words or less. Newser's short-form aggregation, visual format, and unique information tools help you get more of the kind of news you want, in a quicker and more entertaining way. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »