[sustran] Re: Biofuels- everything that shines is gold?
Todd Edelman
edelman at greenidea.info
Fri Feb 2 19:02:43 JST 2007
Hi Brendan,
Brendan Finn wrote:
> Todd,
>
> I understand those points, but please look again at the questions I
> raised. Not all biofuels are generated by destroying rainforests (for
> example in Ireland we grow rape seed in ordinary fields that would
> otherwise be fallow
MY understanding is that fallow lands are useful for wildlife. Look in
what I sent you for energy return on growing, harvesting and processing
rapeseed.
****
> , without damaging the hedgerows) and the plain fact is that our
> societies are based on automotive vehicles using combustible fuels.
Answer what you want or believe: 1) Yes, and biofuels will ensure we
keep it that way, sustainably!, 2}Not for long, 3) Not for long, and if
we don't start adjusting things we are screwed, 4}I know, but I hate it,
5) Some of the above.
****
> Bus operators can't just park up their existing fleet of buses because
> there is no ecologically-pure fuel available.
I AM more concerned with the tailpipe emissions of buses, and that they
are used efficiently, than what they use for fuel. A full petroleum bus
is better than 50 biogas cars.
>
> Now, for a simple person like myself who is involved at the
> operational end of things, are biofuels a red herring when looking for
> cleaner fuels and inherently unsound in themselves; or in a
> conventional setting, is it better to use them than to use petroleum
> or gas fuels?
Do you like 1) Dairy products? or 2) Milk for drinking and yoghurt for
breakfast, but not cheese, nor milk in your coffee? What I mean is that
"biofuels" is a useless term to describe an incredibly wide variety of
products with varying degrees of pollution (from manufacturing to
tailpipe) and sustainability (is a traffic jam full of cars using 100%
local waste methane okay?). Biofuels does not necessarily means
carbon-neutral. We cannot only look at the fuel source to see what is
"better".
> ]
> BTW, in the event that on balance biofuels are better (or less harm)
> than petroleum products, I accept the point that responsible companies
> should do an ecological due diligence on what they are buying.
They got to and we got to look at the whole cycle, the whole picture.
HERE is something more:
<http://www.transportenvironment.org/Article350.html>
T
>
> With best wishes,
>
>
> Brendan.
> _____________________________________________________________________________________
> From Brendan Finn, ETTS Ltd. e-mail : etts at indigo.ie
> <mailto:etts at indigo.ie> tel : +353.87.2530286
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> *From:* Todd Edelman <mailto:edelman at greenidea.info>
> *To:* Global 'South' Sustainable Transport
> <mailto:sustran-discuss at list.jca.apc.org>
> *Sent:* Friday, February 02, 2007 8:58 AM
> *Subject:* [sustran] Re: Biofuels- everything that shines is gold?
>
> Destroying rainforests releases huge amounts of carbon, new
> plantations
> destroy animal habitat, "un-used" land is home to wildlife, and the
> biggest driver for "above ground oil-mining" is certainly not public
> transport, but individual automobile use. So, in a way, when PT
> advocates push for biofuels, they are just supporting continued
> automobile use. I think the automobile industry loves it when PT
> advocates join with them on "common issues", but if you look at their
> representatives you will see their fingers crossed firmly behind
> their
> backs.
>
> Here are some more resources:
> <http://petroleum.berkeley.edu/patzek/index.htm>
> <http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/briefings/palm_oil_biofuel_position.pdf>
>
> - T
>
> Brendan Finn wrote:
> > Can I just ask two simple questions :
> > 1) Does the article describe an inherent fatal flaw of biofuels, or
> > does it present examples of appalling bad practice?
> > 2) On balance, when we have to use combustible fuel, are we
> better to
> > use biofuels which go through their full carbon intake and output
> > cycle now, or to use fossil fuels?
> > With best wishes,
> > Brendan.
> >
> _____________________________________________________________________________________
> > From Brendan Finn, ETTS Ltd. e-mail : etts at indigo.ie
> <mailto:etts at indigo.ie>
> > <mailto:etts at indigo.ie> tel : +353.87.2530286
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > *From:* Andrew Crane-Droesch
> <mailto:andrew.crane-droesch at undp.org>
> > *To:* Global 'South' Sustainable Transport
> > <mailto:sustran-discuss at list.jca.apc.org>
> > *Sent:* Thursday, February 01, 2007 4:32 PM
> > *Subject:* [sustran] Re: Biofuels- everything that shines is
> gold?
> >
> > While skepticism about many biofuels is quite well founded,
> there
> > are notable examples where biofuel systems avoid the problems
> > cited in that article. I'm thinking specifically about /Jatropha
> > curcas/, which is an oilseed shrub that can grow in arid
> climates
> > and degraded soils. It provides erosion control, has medicinal
> > value, and can be grown in areas where it will not compete with
> > food crops.
> > However, it has mostly been worked with in the context of rural
> > sustainable development, less so at the scale to which it
> would be
> > relevant to urban transport.
> > Besides, a congested city in which the cars are running on
> biofuel
> > is not much more desirable than a congested city in which
> the cars
> > are running on fossil fuel. And it could perhaps be worse, given
> > that different types of biodiesel can emit significantly greater
> > quantities of NOx.
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > *From:* Carlos F. Pardo SUTP <mailto:carlos.pardo at sutp.org>
> > *To:* Global 'South' Sustainable Transport
> > <mailto:sustran-discuss at list.jca.apc.org> ; Newmobility Cafe
> > <mailto:NewMobilityCafe at yahoogroups.com>
> > *Sent:* Wednesday, January 31, 2007 9:00 AM
> > *Subject:* [sustran] Biofuels- everything that shines is
> gold?
> >
> > *Scientists are taking 2nd look at biofuels*
> > By Elisabeth Rosenthal
> > Wednesday, January 31, 2007
> > AMSTERDAM - International Herald Tribune
> >
> > *Original source:
> > *http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/01/30/business/biofuel.php
> >
> > Just a few years ago, politicians and green groups in the
> > Netherlands were thrilled by the country's early and rapid
> > adoption of "sustainable energy," achieved in part by
> coaxing
> > electricity plants to use some biofuel — in particular, palm
> > oil from Southeast Asia.
> >
> > Spurred by government subsidies, energy companies became so
> > enthusiastic that they designed generators that ran
> > exclusively on the oil, which in theory would be cleaner
> than
> > fossil fuels like coal because it is derived from plants.
> >
> > But last year, when scientists studied practices at palm
> > plantations in Indonesia and Malaysia, this green fairy tale
> > began to look more like an environmental nightmare.
> >
> > Rising demand for palm oil in Europe brought about the
> razing
> > of huge tracts of Southeast Asian rain forest and the
> overuse
> > of chemical fertilizer there. Worse still, space for the
> > expanding palm plantations was often created by draining and
> > burning peat land, which sent huge amount of carbon
> emissions
> > into the atmosphere.
> >
> > Factoring in these emissions, Indonesia had quickly
> become the
> > world's third-leading producer of greenhouse gases that
> > scientists believe are responsible for global warming,
> ranked
> > after the United States and China, concluded a study
> released
> > in December by researchers from Wetlands International and
> > Delft Hydraulics, both in the Netherlands.
> >
> > "It was shocking and totally smashed all the good reasons we
> > initially went into palm oil," said Alex Kaat, a
> spokesman for
> > Wetlands, a conservation group.
> >
> > Biofuels, long a cornerstone of the quest for greener
> energy,
> > may sometimes produce more harmful emissions than the fossil
> > fuels they replace, scientific studies are finding.
> >
> > As a result, politicians in many countries are
> rethinking the
> > billions of dollars in subsidies that have indiscriminately
> > supported the spread of all of these supposedly "eco-
> > friendly" fuels, for use in power vehicles and
> factories. The
> > 2003 European Union Biofuels Directive, which demands
> that all
> > member states aim to have 5.75 percent of transportation
> > fueled by biofuel in 2010, is now under review.
> >
> > "If you make biofuels properly, you will reduce greenhouse
> > emissions," said Peder Jensen, of the European Environment
> > Agency in Copenhagen. "But that depends very much on the
> types
> > of plants and how they're grown and processed. You can
> end up
> > with a 90 percent reduction compared to fossil fuels —
> or a 20
> > percent increase."
> >
> > "Its important to take a life cycle view," he said, and
> not to
> > "just see what the effects are here in Europe."
> >
> > In the Netherlands, the data from Indonesia have
> provoked soul
> > searching, and prompted the government to suspend palm oil
> > subsidies. A country that was a leader in green energy in
> > Europe has now become a leader in the effort to distinguish
> > which biofuels are truly environmentally sound. The
> > government, environmental groups and some of the "green
> > energy" companies in the Netherlands are trying to develop
> > programs to trace the origin of imported palm oil, to
> certify
> > what is produced in an eco- friendly manner.
> >
> > Krista van Velzen, a member of Parliament, said the
> > Netherlands should pay compensation to Indonesia for the
> > damage palm oil has caused. "We can't only think, 'Does it
> > pollute the Netherlands?'"
> >
> > Biofuels are heavily subsidized throughout the developed
> > world, including the European Union and the United
> States, and
> > enjoy tax breaks that are given because they more
> expensive to
> > produce than conventional fuel.
> >
> > In the United States and Brazil most biofuel is ethanol,
> > derived from corn and used to power vehicles. In Europe
> it is
> > mostly local rapeseed and sunflower oil, used to make diesel
> > fuel. But as many European countries push for more green
> > energy, they are increasingly importing plant oils from the
> > tropics, since there is simply not enough biomass at home.
> >
> > On the surface, the environmental equation that supports
> > biofuels is simple: Since they are derived from plants,
> > biofuels absorb carbon while they are grown and release it
> > when they are burned. In theory that neutralizes their
> emissions.
> >
> > But the industry was promoted long before there was adequate
> > research, said Reanne Creyghton, who runs Friends of the
> > Earth's anti-palm oil campaign in the Netherlands. "Palm oil
> > was advertised as green energy, but there was no research
> > about whether it was really sustainable."
> >
> > Biofuelswatch, an environmental group in Britain, now
> say that
> > "biofuels should not automatically be classed as 'renewable
> > energy.'" It supports a moratorium on subsidies until more
> > research is done to define which biofuels are truly good for
> > the planet. Beyond that, the group suggests that all
> emissions
> > rising from the production of a biofuel be counted as
> > emissions in the country where the fuel is actually used,
> > providing a clearer accounting of environmental costs.
> >
> > The demand for palm oil in Europe has skyrocketed in the
> past
> > two decades, first for use in food and cosmetics, and more
> > recently for biofuels. This versatile and low-cost oil
> is used
> > in about 10 percent of supermarket products, from
> chocolate to
> > toothpaste, accounting for 21 percent of the global
> market for
> > edible oils.
> >
> > Palm oil produces the most energy of all vegetable oils per
> > liter when burned. In much of Europe it is used as a
> > substitute for diesel oil, though in the Netherlands, with
> > little sun for solar power and little wind for turbines, the
> > government has encouraged its use for electricity.
> >
> > Supported by hundreds of millions of euros in national
> > subsidies, the Netherlands rapidly became the leading
> importer
> > of palm oil in Europe, taking in 1.5 million tons last
> year, a
> > figure that has been nearly doubling annually. The Dutch
> green
> > energy giant Essent alone bought 200,000 tons, before it
> > agreed to suspend new purchases until a better system for
> > certifying sustainably grown palm oil could be
> developed. The
> > company now has replaced the palm oil it used with
> > conventional sources of energy and local biofuels.
> >
> > But already the buoyant demand has created damage far away.
> > "When you drastically increase the demand for agricultural
> > products, that puts new pressure on the land and can have
> > unintended consequences and hidden costs," Jensen, of the
> > European Environment Agency, said.
> >
> > Friends of the Earth estimates that 87 percent of the
> > deforestation in Malaysia from 1985 to 2000 was caused
> by new
> > palm oil plantations. In Indonesia, the amount of land
> devoted
> > to palm oil has increased 118 percent in the past eight
> years.
> >
> > Oil needed by poor people for food was becoming too
> expensive
> > for them. "We have a problem satisfying the Netherlands'
> > energy needs with someone else's food resources," said
> > Creyghton of Friends of the Earth.
> >
> > Such concerns were causing intense misgivings about palm oil
> > already when, in December, scientists from Wetlands
> > International released their bombshell calculation about the
> > global emissions that palm farming on peat land caused.
> >
> > Peat is an organic sponge that stores huge amounts of
> carbon,
> > thereby helping to balance global emissions. Peat land is 90
> > percent water. But when it is drained, those stored
> gases are
> > released into the atmosphere.
> >
> > To makes matters worse, once dried, peat land is often
> burned
> > to clear ground for plantations. In recent years
> Indonesia has
> > been plagued by polluting wildfires so intense that they
> send
> > thick clouds of smoke over much of Asia.
> >
> > The Dutch study estimated that the draining of peat land in
> > Indonesia releases 600 million tons of carbon into the
> > atmosphere a year and that fires contributed an additional
> > 1,400 million tons annually. The total, 2000 million
> tons, is
> > equivalent to 8 percent of all global emissions caused
> > annually by burning fossil fuels, the researchers said.
> >
> > "These emissions generated by peat drainage in Indonesia
> were
> > not counted before," Kaat, of Wetlands International, said.
> > "It was a totally ignored problem." For the moment
> Wetlands is
> > backing the certification system for palm oil imports,
> to make
> > sure it is grown and processed in a sustainable manner.
> >
> > But some environmental groups are convinced that palm oil
> > cannot be produced sustainably at reasonable prices. Part of
> > the reason palm oil is now relatively inexpensive is because
> > of poor environmental practices and labor abuses, they say.
> >
> > Still, some Dutch companies like Biox, a young company fully
> > devoted to producing energy from palm oil, are confident
> there
> > will be a solution and are banking on this biofuel.
> >
> > Biox has applied to build three palm oil power plants in the
> > Netherlands; the first one gained approval just last
> week. It
> > is currently auditing its plantations and refineries in
> > Indonesia for sustainability.
> >
> > "Yes, there have been bad examples in the palm oil
> industry,"
> > said Arjen Brinkman, a company official. "But it is now
> clear
> > that to serve Europe's markets for biofuel and
> bioenergy, you
> > will have to prove that you produce it sustainably —
> that you
> > are producing less, not more CO2."
> >
> >
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> --
> --------------------------------------------
>
> Todd Edelman
> Director
> Green Idea Factory
>
> Korunní 72
> CZ-10100 Praha 10
> Czech Republic
>
> ++420 605 915 970
> ++420 222 517 832
> Skype: toddedelman
>
> edelman at greenidea.eu <mailto:edelman at greenidea.eu>
> http://www.worldcarfree.net/onthetrain
>
> Green Idea Factory,
> a member of World Carfree Network
>
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>
> ================================================================
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--
--------------------------------------------
Todd Edelman
Director
Green Idea Factory
Korunní 72
CZ-10100 Praha 10
Czech Republic
++420 605 915 970
++420 222 517 832
Skype: toddedelman
edelman at greenidea.eu
http://www.worldcarfree.net/onthetrain
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