Are Biofuels Sustainable?
All of us are experiencing the pain at the gas pump, unless you have a hybrid, hydrogen or electric vehicle. Meanwhile, oil companies are experiencing tremendous profits, thanks to many reasons, including gas guzzling vehicles, successful marketing campaigns, and starry-eyed consumers. Many consumers bought into the marketing lie that "bigger is better" and now they financially suffer at the pump, while also negatively impacting our small planet. As we look at the various alternatives to petroleum, we must ask, are biofuels really sustainable? A document prepared by the House of Commons Environmental Committee (January 2008), addresses this very question. The fact is that biofuels are contributing to a global food crisis. According to a recent article in the Guardian, "Biofuels have forced global food prices up by 75% - far more than previously estimated - according to a confidential World Bank report obtained by the Guardian."
Considering the growing rhetoric of the depletion of oil reserves, let's take a look at the pros and cons of five sources of biofuels: corn ethanol, sugar-cane ethanol, cellulosic ethanol, algae biofuel, and biodiesel.
Corn Ethanol
Pros: Could reduce US reliance upon oil imports and decrease greenhouse gases.
Cons: Production is energy intensive and the price of corn, meat and grain have gone through the roof. 450+ pounds of corn are required to fill a 25 gallon tank with an ethanol (enough calories to feed one person for a year!).
Sugar-Cane Ethanol
Pros: Less energy to produce than corn and yields more per acre than corn.
Cons: Requires a warm, rainy climate to grow.
Cellulosic Ethanol
Pros: Made from wood chips, nonfood crops, and farm waste.
Cons: More expensive than sugar or corn and very energy intensive.
Algae Biofuel
Pros: Algae grows quickly and can produce 30x more energy than other biofuel alternatives.
Cons: Growing algae is expensive. The technology is not yet developed to make extensive fuel from algae.
Biodiesel
Pros: Made from vegetable oil, like canola and soy, and animal fat. Unfortunately, it requires 90% more energy to create it than to use it. Biodiesel is estimated to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40-80%.
Cons: Boosts "agflation".
Related articles:
U.N. Says Food Plan Could Cost $30 Billion a Year (New York Times, June 4, 2008)
All Biofuels Are Not The Same (Washington Post, June 16, 2008)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/jul/03/biofuels.renewableenergy
Converting Trash to Alternative Energy
Did you know your rubbish can be a potential source of alternative energy? Integrated Environmental Technologies (IET) has created a system that converts any waste material into valuable commercial products, including eco-friendly fuels to generate electricity, a glass-like substance used to create building materials and more. IET can vaporize about one ton of garbage into approximately five cubic feet of glass! Scientists at IET placed a rubber shoe in the system and the shoe was evaporated into a small glass pellet that can be used a filler for the construction of roads! In addition, this process created nearly four gallons of gas, which can be used for alternative energy.
Their Plasma Enhanced Melter (PEM) system address two major issues: 1) waste treatment and disposal, and 2) eco-friendly sources of energy. It converts hazardous and waste material to renewable energy!
The PEM system is now being used in Washington, Hawaii, Japan, Taiwan and Malaysia. It is a cost effective, environmentally safe and efficient way to convert trash into treasure! My question is why has this technology not been implemented all over the nation?
Wouldn't you rather use this form of alternative energy than going to war? I think of the ridiculous cost of gasoline, the diminishing quantity of oil, innocent lives lost, and our dependency upon oil rich nations; I know this method is a viable way around such insanity.
See a video about their system here.
From their site:
Integrated Environmental Technologies, LLC ("IET") (www.inentec.com) provides high-tech solutions to the problems of waste accumulation and the need for clean renewable fuels. Through its proprietary waste recycling system, the Plasma Enhanced Melter ("PEM™"), IET transforms municipal (household), commercial, medical, and most industrial and hazardous wastes into clean renewable products, such as ethanol, methanol, syngas and hydrogen, with minimal environmental impact and low costs. The system exceeds the EPA’s standards for comparable facilities in all areas including: air emissions, water discharges, and solid waste generation, and comes closer to 100% recycling of waste than any other such commercially available technology.