More interesting news released over the weekend indicates that use of biofuels (corn, soybean, and sugar-based ethanol) increases global warming even more than fossil fuels do. How can that be?
With the higher prices of food (like corn and soybeans) that are being driven by the idea of making fuel out of them, more and more forest land around the world is being cut down in order to grow more of these grains. Thus, these forest lands that would have helped alleviate some of the greenhouse effect of carbon-based fuels are being cut down to grow even more ethanol-based biofuels.
This is a particularly stunning development, given that the study was done by an environmental group, the Nature Conservancy. It is an on-going study that will continue to be completed and updated annually.
With the higher prices of food (like corn and soybeans) that are being driven by the idea of making fuel out of them, more and more forest land around the world is being cut down in order to grow more of these grains. Thus, these forest lands that would have helped alleviate some of the greenhouse effect of carbon-based fuels are being cut down to grow even more ethanol-based biofuels.
This is a particularly stunning development, given that the study was done by an environmental group, the Nature Conservancy. It is an on-going study that will continue to be completed and updated annually.
