Bonjour! Mr. Carter here to share some thoughts. In my last post I mentioned that I was interested in gaining more knowledge about alternative energy sources. Today I stumbled upon a report by three scientists titled, “Biofuels: Implications for Land Use and Biodiversity”, that truly made me reflect on how the U.S. should go about making policy regarding new energy sources. There are other forms of fuel out there, the problem is figuring out the best way to produce them so that our country can enjoy the economic and social benefits of doing so. The report argues that “In order to balance increasing demands on land for urban, industrial and agricultural use, policies need to incorporate socioeconomic and ecological principles in view of current and past land uses.” It then goes on to look at a number of options and their likely land- use benefits. The report was very intriguing in the fact that it made me look at biofuel production in a new light. Before, when thinking about the complications of energy policymaking I thought only of the financial concern. Producing biofuels is expensive, however, it is not the only difficult element in creating policy concerning energy; one must also look at the potential adverse effects of producing these necessary fuels on our ecosystem. In truth, I have never really thought about energy policy in this way, but as the report states, it is necessary to acknowledge this issue and now I see why. While producing these fuels will certainly benefit our nation, if production only furthers the decay of our precious environment it is not sensible. We must find ways in which to produce biofuels while preserving the planet. Anyhow, this report helped me tremendously, to better understand the complexities of energy policymaking. I recommend reading this report, as it will increase your awareness on biofuels and the environmental impacts of producing them. Hope it’s as interesting for you as it was for me!
-Here is the link to the report, enjoy!
http://esa.org/biofuelsreports/files/ESA%20Biofuels%20Report_VH%20Dale%20et%20al.pdf
- Mr. Carter
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Yeah, biofuels are most certainly an interesting alternative energy source. Carter is right though, their production is currently too expensive to satisfy general energy concerns. Right now, I know that most experimental biofuels are produced from either corn or sugar cane. But, biofuels can be produced from a variety of other organic materials as well, such as algae. In the coming years, it will be fascinating to see what new developments can be made in this emerging field.
ReplyDelete-posted by Alex Kwong