Personally, biofuels are a path to energy independence. However, I do not agree with the mainstream that they are an answer to climate change issues. Biofuels use combustion to obtain energy. Combustion releases CO2 + H20. They still contribute to the buildup of climate gasses. Granted, biofuels may contribute fewer pollutants than petrol, but I remain unconvinced that they are an answer to this problem.
Further, biofuels in general create competition for land between human food and energy production. I guarantee that in the long run, if faced with the choice of using vegetation production for human food or energy, that energy will win out. Why? Because Big Business almost always makes choices based on ultimate income and profitability above human health and welfare. This would ultimately create food shortages, escalating food costs and ultimately famine in many areas. I recognize that many may see this as a path to zero growth, but in fact it is a bad path. Human famine is probably as damaging to the environment as is human mismanagement. The advantage of switchgrass in this respect is that people do not eat it, and frankly neither is it used much for livestock. It does produce large quantities of forage for use in digesters. However, I highly doubt a monoculture of switchgrass would be any more beneficial to wildlife than a monoculture of oak trees, pine trees, or corn. Frankly, we already have monoculture of grasses in the form of hayfields. 2-4 hay cuttings a year must be timed very well to avoid grassland bird nest damage, amphibians and reptiles are directly baled up and killed by hay machinery, and modern hay machinery in large scale hay fields can even lead to baled up rabbits and animals like that are relatively mobile because such wide swaths are taken with the cutting and rakes. This is not an attack on farmers haying, or production of biofuels specifically. It is just looking at some of the negatives I see. Maybe the positives outweigh the negatives for some folks. As an environmental scientist, I recognize that we must manage the environment with humans considered because damage to human populations will feedback into the environemnt and environmental policy. It always does. The business of business is to make money, all other goals are secondary. On Fri, Jul 19, 2013 at 11:52 PM, Wayne Tyson <[email protected]> wrote: > If I understand the purpose of Ecolog correctly, it is a place for > announcements of matters of interest to ecologists and their > fellow-travelers, and a place for informal discussion of such matters. The > most basic unwritten rule that governs discourse in a forum of any kind is > to be specifically responsive to the points made by fellow participants. > Condescension in any form, direct or indirect, is considered by most to be > unkind at best, but rude, really--"bad form," as some might say. > > I look forward to an open and honest discussion of the points made by the > discussants. It should be pretty simple to clearly and concisely state the > evidence for and against such hare-brained stunts as converting CRP lands to > switchgrass monocultures. Similarly, those knowledgeable enough to foster > conferences should be able to state the net energy yields of switchgrass > plantations, a simple matter of an input/output calculation. > > I hope that these pivotal issues will not be evaded by those who have vested > interests in, say, switchgrass culture. > > WT > > ----- Original Message ----- From: "John Raasch" <[email protected]> > To: <[email protected]> > Sent: Friday, July 19, 2013 9:59 AM > Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] ENERGY Biofuels and their questionable potential Re: > [ECOLOG-L] Switchgrass Conference September 2013 > > > Hello Wayne and David. > > Thank you for voicing your concerns and contributing to the discussion. It > is important to look at the big picture and recognize the full impact of > human activity on the landscape. > > Regarding the switchgrass conference, there will be a session devoted to > environmental services and impacts. The first speaker for this will be G. > Philip Robertson, Professor of Ecosystem Science, Michigan State > University. > > There's also a two-day poster session and still room in the schedule for > additional oral presentations. I hope people will take adavantage of the > opportunity to present research covering their concerns. > > http://www.dfrc.wisc.edu/switchgrass/ > > John > > On Thu, 20 Jun 2013 13:40:38 -0500, David L. McNeely <[email protected]> > wrote: > >> I did not see conservation listed as a discipline involved > > in "Switchgrass II." There is a move afoot in Oklahoma and Kansas to > convert Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) lands, which have been > succeeding toward something resembling a prairie in those states after > having been inappropriately farmed, to switchgrass production. Some of > these CRP lands are important Lesser Prairie Chicken habitat, a formerly > hugely abundant grouse that has been seriously declining and is proposed > as an endangered species. >> >> >> Farmers and ranchers, partly because of misinformation, partly because of > > experience, distrust the endangered species program but work cooperatively > with the CRP program -- mostly because it pays to do so, but the result is > more habitat for chickens. >> >> >> If it is all converted to monoculture, where will the Lesser Prairie > > Chickens go? >> >> >> David McNeely >> >> ---- Wayne Tyson <[email protected]> wrote: >>> >>> Do I hear a "Giant Sucking Sound?" What is the evidence that > > switchgrass can >>> >>> produce more energy that it takes to get said energy to the point of > > doing >>> >>> work more efficiently than alternatives? What are the implications for > > the >>> >>> ecosystems that would be effectively destroyed by widespread planting of >>> switchgrass? Upon what theoretical foundations is the whole concept > > based, >>> >>> including the "use" of "marginal" lands? Does anyone really think that >>> marginal lands will not produce marginal amounts of energy? At what > > cost in >>> >>> dollars and degradation/destruction of ecosystems? >>> >>> WT >>> >>> >>> ----- Original Message ----- >>> From: "John Raasch" <[email protected]> >>> To: <[email protected]> >>> Sent: Thursday, June 20, 2013 10:11 AM >>> Subject: [ECOLOG-L] Switchgrass Conference September 2013 >>> >>> >>> Announcing SWITCHGRASS II, taking place in Madison, Wisconsin, USA, 10- > > 12 >>> >>> September 2013 at the Monona Terrace Convention Center. Registration, >>> housing, and abstract submission information available at the following >>> website: www.dfrc.wisc.edu/switchgrass. >>> >>> The conference will bring together scientists and students interested in >>> switchgrass and other prairie grasses to discuss the state of the art of >>> prairie grass research. It will be an excellent opportunity to meet and >>> interact with researchers from a wide range of disciplines, including >>> agronomy, physiology, ecology, soil science, pathology, entomology, >>> genetics, genomics, and molecular biology. The conference will include a >>> field tour, several plenary presentations, selected volunteered oral >>> presentations, a poster session, and a community workshop. >>> >>> Program Highlights: >>> >>> All-day tour of prairie/savanna and bioenergy research. >>> Eight topical areas, each with one invited speaker. >>> One-day poster session, organized according to the eight topical areas. >>> >>> A small group of abstracts from each topical area will be chosen, with > > the >>> >>> author's permission, for oral presentations. The committee will make > > this >>> >>> decision before the conference, so that authors have time to plan for an >>> oral presentation. >>> >>> Abstract submission deadline: 11:59pm Friday 16 August (Central Daylight >>> Time USA) >>> >>> Registration deadline: 1 September >>> >>> For more information contact [email protected] or [email protected]. >>> >>> >>> ----- >>> No virus found in this message. >>> Checked by AVG - www.avg.com >>> Version: 10.0.1432 / Virus Database: 3199/5926 - Release Date: 06/20/13 >> >> >> -- >> David McNeely >> ========================================================================= > > > > ----- > No virus found in this message. > Checked by AVG - www.avg.com > Version: 10.0.1432 / Virus Database: 3204/6003 - Release Date: 07/19/13 -- Malcolm L. McCallum Department of Environmental Studies University of Illinois at Springfield Managing Editor, Herpetological Conservation and Biology "Peer pressure is designed to contain anyone with a sense of drive" - Allan Nation 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! The Seven Blunders of the World (Mohandas Gandhi) Wealth w/o work Pleasure w/o conscience Knowledge w/o character Commerce w/o morality Science w/o humanity Worship w/o sacrifice Politics w/o principle Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail message, including any attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of the original message.
