Vaughan Pratt
Again you amaze me when you write:
max: : Biofuels are carbon neutral, Vaughan
That would be true if the land on which the biofuels are grown had previously been desert, concrete, or something that didn’t previously consume CO2. But if the biofuels are grown on land that would otherwise have been used to produce food, lumber, etc. then they are not carbon neutral because replacing foodstock, trees, etc. by plants (sugar cane etc.) used for biofuels does not increase the removal of CO2 from the atmosphere.
So if you’re advocating growing biofuels in deserts, or trashing cities and roads to replace them with biofuel plantations, you’re right. Otherwise you’re wrong.
Let’s analyze what you wrote.
Biofuels (by definition) require as much carbon to create as they release when they are burned. Period.
How the biofuels are created is another question.
Growing biofuels does not necessarily mean reducing crop growth (or human food consumption). The US corn ethanol fiasco is no model for biofuel creation. Biofuels from food crops are not the answer.
Nor does it mean destroying forests to do so.
Biofuels could be an answer, however, if produced sustainably.
There are a lot of studies out there on biofuels from biomass (this could be crop residues (rice hulls or corn stalks to methane, for example) or from other specific biofuel crops. Sweden and Finland supply around 20% of their primary energy from biomass.
The cumulative reduction in CO2 generated depends on the rate of growth of the specific crop being used. Some studies have suggested the use of a fast growing crop, such as switch grass.
As a blurb by the “Union of Concerned Scientists” states:
http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_energy/our-energy-choices/renewable-energy/how-biomass-energy-works.html
If developed properly, biomass can and should supply increasing amounts of biopower. In fact, in numerous analyses of how America can transition to a clean energy future, sustainable biomass is a critical renewable resource.
and
Most scientists believe that a wide range of biomass resources are “beneficial” because their use will clearly reduce overall carbon emissions and provide other benefits. Among other resources, beneficial biomass includes
1. energy crops that don’t compete with food crops for land
2. portions of crop residues such as wheat straw or corn stover
3. sustainably-harvested wood and forest residues, and
4. clean municipal and industrial wastes.
And then there is the research work on growing algae as a potential source of biofuel as Diesel replacement.
“We are surrounded by insurmountable opportunities” (as they say)regarding biofuels, Vaughan (and these could result in a net reduction of CO2 generated).
Max
