Cellulosic Ethanol Sugar Diverted to Algae Biodiesel Production : Gas 2.0

I am never surprised at any organization in the UK (a place that would probably fit in a corner of Texas) being all aflutter about land use. And while I agree that the developing world (or the financial creeps that "invest" in the developing world) are making very bad decisions that adversely impact the local people and the global climate, attacking land use in the USA as a cause of starvation or climate degradation is disengious at best, We have the land to spare to create a lot of biofuel without extreme harm to food production. Even the corn (which is an attrocious choice for biofuel production) is not as big a factor as the detractors try to make it. We had freak weather that flooded the midwest and that was our major cause of corn shortage. Bottom line is that as we in the US use land APPROPRIATELY to make fuel we reduce the prices of global energy and make the less favorable land use less profitable. We are __**STOPPING**__ the conversions in other countries. Economics is as it is. The USA has an abolute advantage in biofuels creation.

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"I know no safe depository of the ultimate powers
of society but the people themselves; and
if we think them not enlightened enough to
exercise their control with a wholesome
discretion, the remedy is not to take it from
them, but to inform thei

Hi,

Were you aware that the Green Party in Britain (and elsewhere in Europe) is opposing the widespread use of biodiesel/ethanol as a solution to the transportation issue?

The issues at stake have to do the vast mono-culture farming techniques that such a transition would involve. This has already started in parts of Africa and Latin America with millions of acres already being used for soya, sugar and rapeseed at the expense of sustainable food production for local communities. Land grabs are already underway with evictions of subsistence farmers increasing.

The long-term result of these trends is likely to be a reduction in the availability of locally produced foods in parts of the developing world, a corresponding increase in food prices both there and in developed countries and a degradation in soil quality (which is typical in mono-culture situations).

Meanwhile, airlines and car manufacturers are falling over themselves to develop these "greener" technologies despite the growing number of qualified voices raising concern over the rush towards ethanol.

This may prove to be a false dawn as far as genuine environmental progress is concerned.