Thursday, January 29, 2015

Sadly, It's Not Too Dumb

From the New York Times, through Wombat-socho's "In the Mailbox, 01.29.15", Tom McGuire at Just One Minute reminds us biofuels are : Too Dumb Even For Environmentalists

Biofuels make little sense - who knew?
Western governments have made a wrong turn in energy policy by supporting the large-scale conversion of plants into fuel and should reconsider that strategy, according to a new report from a prominent environmental think tank.

Turning plant matter into liquid fuel or electricity is so inefficient that the approach is unlikely ever to supply a substantial fraction of global energy demand, the report found. It added that continuing to pursue this strategy — which has already led to billions of dollars of investment — is likely to use up vast tracts of fertile land that could be devoted to helping feed the world’s growing population.
If you're not in favor of nuclear energy, you're not really in favor of a sustainable energy plan, you just hate the human race. Do us a favor and leave:
. . .under mandates adopted by Congress during the George W. Bush administration and supported by the Obama administration, as much as 30 percent to 40 percent of the American corn crop is being turned into fuel for cars each year, displacing about 6 percent of the nation’s demand for gasoline.

Several studies have found that the policy has helped drive up global food prices, has worsened some types of air pollution and has done relatively little to reduce overall emissions of carbon dioxide, the gas primarily responsible for global warming.
But the madness continues driven by the power of ignorance and good intentions in the environmental community, and rent seeking by the farming community. A true unholy alliance.

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