Environmentally Friendly, Humanly Unfriendly

Categories: uncategorized

Date: 14 May 2007 13:58:37

One of the ways of reducing green house gases is in the promotion of biofuels. This is the method of mixing ethanol, extracted from crops, with petrol. This means that we'll see more fields of corn, grain and rape in our countryside. The extract oils are then mixed with a 15% mix of petrol.

The benefit is not from producing less gases from burning the fuel. In fact biofuels produce slightly more CO2 than normal petrol. The benefit is that the crops absorb CO2 in their growing cycle; this therefore offsets their later production of the gases.

This is already having an effect on our food prices. As more and more farmers begin growing crops to meet the need for ethanol they are having an effect neglected by its proponents. They are pushing up the cost of these crops and thus raising food prices.

For those of us in the developed this may not been seen as a bad thing. Farmers are receiving extra income and we'll be helping the planet to survive by buying biofuel. At present there is not a universal demand for biofuels but they are growing. Brazil has been using biofuels for years and Sweden is closing rapidly.

However it is having a detrimental effect on the poor areas. Why? Well higher prices takes food away from their plates as they will be less able to afford it. As more crops are grown for fuel then less are available for food. If a farmer is faced with a lower income for food but a higher price for fuel then he'll be more inclined to sell for fuel. This is especially so in the more developed world. Not only are we not self sufficient in providing our food but also on fuel.

With the targets being set by developed governments things could become far more difficult. These targets will also be imposed on less developed countries and thus alter the balance. We could get to the situation where famine effected countries are using more land for fuel crops than food crops and pushing the price ever higher.

For those unaware, the crops for biofuels are also used in food production. However the prices are not set by the producers but by the Futures Markets. These are people who not only buy the harvested crops but also buy futures as insurance against crop failures etc. In addition they are used by speculators to manipulate the markets and to gamble against price changes.

I can see the day when our pursuit of social justice and planetary harmony will lead to the same problems with poverty and injustice that we are working to eradicate now.