I'm not gonna mirror all the news on Biofuels here. Suffice it to say before the Biofuels were even endorsed or implemented, a lot of people were saying that neither Biofuels or any other combination of alternatives was gonna allow us to run the world's highway systems the way we are running them. But oil prices are $117 now, so every ostensible 'investment' into fuel comes with a lot more pressure - especially from consumers that are starting to go nuts as they realise they're not going to get through the month.
The answer mustn't be to find alternatives, as in alternatives fuels, it must be in finding different ways to get around, changing our infrastructure, re-engineering and retrofitting suburbia, getting trains going etc. Unfortunately, since we've been stupid and distracted, we'll now find we can't afford to make those changes, and the changes we can afford to make are going to become fewer as our choices become fewer.
Meanwhile the US has 1 new ethanol plant up and running every 2 weeks - right now they have 139 Ethanol Plants. They want to increase this by 300%.
But the hype is even more misleading than everyone thought. The run off from the fertilizers used (and the coal used to fire up these ethanol plants) is creating a lot more pollution than conventional fuel production. I think it's 29% more energy intensive and thus polluting than conventional refining. So much for 'clean' energy. And when you fill your tank with ethanol, it burns quicker, meaning you use more fuel to go the same distance. Ethanol won't satisfy our fuel-for-cars energy appetite, not even close. But then this blog (and many besides) have been saying that for a long time before Biofuels became Campaign Speak in the US.
Biofuels under attack as world food prices soar
Oil hits record $117 a barrel
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