11 February 2008

Study: Biofuels Can Be Bad

More evidence is piling up that biofuels may not be the boon to energy resources that they've been touted to be.

In recent years, studies have pointed out several potential problems with using biofuels, such as ethanol, as energy sources. Some research has indicated it may take more energy to make the ethanol than it would ultimately provide as a fuel. Some types of ethanol when burned may not cut down on the release of greenhouse gases as much as was hoped. And devoting more land to growing biofuel crops can strain water resources, other studies have found.

The gist of the studies seem to be that the creation of most biofuels takes more energy than it saves, that the clearing of land for plant resources releases large amounts of carbon into the atmosphere... .

And let's not forget how much food prices have gone up, at least in the USA, due to the higher demand for ethanol (primarily from corn), & it's higher cost (Thanks, GW).

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