Biofuels more carbon intensive: new studies
Sat, 2008-02-09 22:31
#1
Biofuels more carbon intensive: new studies
Sat, 2008-02-09 22:31
#2
[url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/08/science/earth/08wbiofuels.html]Biofuels deemed a greenhouse threat[/url]
quote:
Almost all biofuels used today cause more greenhouse gas emissions than conventional fuels if the full emissions costs of producing these “green” fuels are taken into account, two studies being published Thursday have concluded.The benefits of biofuels have come under increasing attack in recent months, as scientists took a closer look at the global environmental cost of their production. These latest studies, published in the prestigious journal Science, are likely to add to the controversy.
These studies for the first time take a detailed, comprehensive look at the emissions effects of the huge amount of natural land that is being converted to cropland globally to support biofuels development.
The destruction of natural ecosystems — whether rain forest in the tropics or grasslands in South America — not only releases greenhouse gases into the atmosphere when they are burned and plowed, but also deprives the planet of natural sponges to absorb carbon emissions. Cropland also absorbs far less carbon than the rain forests or even scrubland that it replaces.
Tue, 2008-02-12 09:31
#3
M. Spector
[url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/feb/11/biofuels.energy]Biofuel demand leading to human rights abuses[/url]
quote:
A new report, published by Friends of the Earth and indigenous rights groups LifeMosaic and Sawit Watch, said that increasing demands for palm oil for food and biofuels was causing millions of hectares of forests to be cleared for plantations and [b]destroying the livelihoods of indigenous peoples.[/b]The report, [url=http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/reports/losingground-summary.pdf]Losing Ground[/url], said many of the 60-90 million people in Indonesia who depend on the forests are losing their land to the palm oil companies.
Pollution from pesticides, fertilisers and the pressing process is also leaving some villages without clean water.
"The unsustainable expansion of Indonesia's palm oil industry is leaving many indigenous communities without land, water or adequate livelihoods. Previously self-sufficient communities find themselves in debt or struggling to afford education and food. Traditional customs and culture are being damaged alongside Indonesia's forests and wildlife," the report reads.
It claims that oil palm companies often use violent tactics as they move in to convert the land to plantations.
"Human rights – including the right to water, to health, the right to work, cultural rights and the right to be protected from ill-treatment and arbitrary arrest – are being denied in some communities.
"If palm oil is to be produced sustainably, the damaging effects of unjust policies and practices in the Indonesian plantation sector must be addressed," the report said.
Wed, 2008-07-16 22:13
#4
M. Spector
[url=http://monthlyreview.org/080714magdoff.php]The best article on biofuels ever written[/url]