By 2022??? THat is the same year that Soylent Green takes place! SOYLENT GREEN IS PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
we will get there yet! On Tue, Nov 18, 2008 at 3:50 PM, William Silvert <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Given the heated discussion about biofuels on this list, the following > editorial from the NY Times may be of interest. > > November 18, 2008 > Editorial > Honesty About Ethanol > One of the 2007 energy bill's most ambitious provisions - the ethanol mandate > - has turned out to be its most troublesome. The provision would boost > ethanol production from 7-plus billion gallons today to 36 billion gallons by > 2022. In practical terms, this means doubling the production of corn ethanol > until advanced forms of ethanol and other biofuels kick in. > > Corn ethanol came under fire earlier this year when evidence mounted that the > diversion of cropland from food to fuel had contributed to the spike in > worldwide food prices. What is less clear is whether corn ethanol is good or > bad for the planet - whether it emits fewer or more greenhouse gas emissions > than conventional gasoline. The answer turns on how you measure emissions. > > Congress stipulated that ethanol be cleaner than gasoline and handed the job > of measuring emissions to the Environmental Protection Agency, which has > found itself under ferocious pressure. The ethanol industry wants its product > shown in the best possible light. Environmentalists want an honest > accounting, which the public deserves but which they do not think an > industry-friendly Bush administration is capable of. > > The most contentious question involves the emissions caused by direct and > indirect changes in land use associated with growing biofuels. Until late > last year, corn ethanol had been seen as at least carbon neutral - and thus > much cleaner than gasoline - because the greenhouse gases it absorbed while > growing canceled out the gases it emitted during combustion. This made it a > win-win fuel - even a win-win-win fuel - because it also encouraged the > construction of ethanol refineries in the American heartland and eased, to > some extent, America's dependence on imported oil. > > But then came a spate of new studies arguing that earlier calculations had > failed to account for the emissions caused when land is cleared and tilled, > releasing large quantities of stored carbon. In particular, the studies said, > the earlier scenarios had overlooked the indirect or ripple effects of > ethanol production - the carbon released when the diversion of land from food > to fuel in the Corn Belt causes farmers elsewhere in the world to clear > untouched land to make up for the loss. > > The studies also said that some biofuels - waste material, forest residues, > certain grasses - can be produced without harmful changes in land use and > with benefit to the atmosphere. But the indirect effects of converting food > crops to fuel production were found to cause net increases in emissions in > almost every case. > > The industry says that such indirect effects are impossible to measure and > that the studies are premature. One industry group has asked the E.P.A. to > ignore them entirely. But it seems clear on its face that some land-use > changes - e.g., cutting down rain forests to plant crops - would have > seriously negative effects. > > In any case, it is the E.P.A.'s duty under the law to give the most unbiased, > accurate accounting it can. The issue here is the fate of the planet, not the > fate of a particular industry. > -- Malcolm L. McCallum Associate Professor of Biology Texas A&M University-Texarkana Editor, Herpetological Conservation and Biology http://www.herpconbio.org Summer Teaching Schedule & Office Hours: Ecology: M,W 1-2:40 pm Cell Biology: M 6-9:40 pm (don't ask!) Forensic Science: T,R 10-11:40am Office Hours: MW 12-1, 5-6, TR 11:40-12:30, 1880's: "There's lots of good fish in the sea" W.S. Gilbert 1990's: Many fish stocks depleted due to overfishing, habitat loss, and pollution. 2000: Marine reserves, ecosystem restoration, and pollution reduction MAY help restore populations. 2022: Soylent Green is People!
