Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, June 8, 2007; Page D01
As President Bush and congressional leaders rally support for their ambitious biofuel proposals, one ingredient is often left unstated: the cost.
Bush and members of Congress stress energy independence and environmental benefits of federal requirements for a massive increase in the use of biofuels in motor vehicles. But so far they have muted discussion of the prosaic details of how to pay for the subsidies and other incentives seen as crucial for meeting the new biofuels targets.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/07/AR2007060702176_pf.html
2 comments:
I could not find anything on the Liquid to Coal Promotion Act that has been published recently but I found something else that might be just as inefficient an investment... Biofuels. . . some of you might not agree but after reading the article you might have to think about its credibility or lack of it as a sustainable fuel for the future.
I whole-heartedly agree. I think biofuels are great for processing existing waste and for niche applications that require a liquid fuel for combustion, but they are inherently flawed for a couple major reasons.
Most biofuel applications being promoted today depend on agriculture practices that are not only energy intensive, but also incredibly dirty in terms of water pollution and soil errosion. Modern agricultural practice take productivity from land without putting it back. Imagine an energy future based on that equation, and you can see major problems not far down the road.
What scares me is, once the biofuels industry becomes an entrenched and integral part of our energy portfolio, it will not be easy to dislodge. We thus must ask ourselves, can we gaurentee the long-term sustainability of the massive increase in biofuel production necessary to make a dent in hydro-carbon consumption? And, if not, do we realistically see biofuel companies (or, more likely, oil majors with biofuel operations) giving up this new cash crop at some point? I seriously doubt it.
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