Could Biofuels May Do More Harm Than Good For Environment?

Finally, after a long time, we are discussing a topic that has been constantly brushed under the carpet. We all want to explore alternate sources of energy that help reduce our dependency on fossil fuel. This is a fact that there cannot be a debate about. The two reasons for this would be the rate at which fossil fuel is being consumed and the emissions that are produced by harnessing this energy. Fossil fuels will soon be all but gone and they might by then have destroyed the balance of the planet with the incredible amount of carbon emissions that they produce.

Corn is being diverted from human consumption, kicking off a domino effect of problems tied to food prices. It starts with ethanol produced from corn, which optimists hope will help solve the U.S. reliance on foreign oil, as well as provide a fuel that burns cleaner.


And it is going to get bigger. In 2000, world production of ethanol totalled 20 billion litres. In 2007, world production climbed to 60 billion litres. In the month of January 2008 alone, six billion new litres of ethanol were produced in the United States. Scores of ethanol plants are under construction and as a result, it is predicted that the United States will produce 52 billion litres of the fuel in 2008.

When all the plants are running, the United States could produce twice as much corn for ethanol as Canada's total crop production wheat, barley, canola, everything. This has huge implications for global food supplies.

Apparently, the amount of corn it takes to produce 75 liters of biofuel is enough to feed a man for an entire year! So do we really need to concentrate research and resources in this direction? I have mentioned this quite clearly before and will state it again that Biofuel is not and cannot be the long term answer to world energy needs. Our research must be concentrated in the fields of solar, wind and tidal energy development. Most importantly, the answer to our great energy crisis is the Hydrogen Fuel Cell Technology. It is clean and the raw material is abundant. If we can conceive a cheap, clean and simple method of electrolysis and make the fuel safe during transportation, it is our best bet for the future.