CATEGORY - BIOFUELS

Time to break this out as a separate category.

And also to note that when discussed before (as it is, often), the archiving separates singular from plurals, so you need to check 'BIOFUEL' and 'BIOFUELS' (see links at end) to get the full collection.

I will... one day... try to bring them all under here, but this is where it will all go from now on.

Sunday Times - Biofuels: Fields of dreams - a fair summary to kick off

BBC - Call for delay to biofuels policy

Guardian - Top scientists warn against rush to biofuel

Guardian - Biofuels: a solution that became part of the problem

Food&Drink.com - Nestle chief warns biofuels threaten food supplies - another take... from a surprising source

The Register - Dave of Solarventi has flagged this up in comments: I think it worthy of a main link: Pork and politics energise the biofuel delusion - I really like their contributors' writing style (erring on the very witty, with a touch of sarky), but the sheer logic that their science base makes for compelling argument and opinion. Plus, even if they may not see it in such terms, they are very much in the vanguard of genuine enviROI+ advocacy. I might also have to lob this in the Compost and FWD categories, too.... assuming he's right.

Had to drop a note:

'And the prize for GW claptrap reporting goes, once again to, the BBC.'

To this statement, at the very least... Amen.

Whatever else one might think about the various issues surrounding 'Probably man-worsened climate change', I am still trying to get around our national broadcaster's total lack of irony.

Around the ice shelf story they had no problem advocating moon burials and a crew flying to Midway Island to go beachcombing for plastic to show how a bag ban will solve the various e-crises.

ps: Back on-topic, kudos for a most worthwhile story for those simply keen to avoid waste and reduce unnecessary greenhouse nasties going up - no matter what - 'in the name of green'.

Beverage Daily - Biofuels policy requires focus on sustainability, says CIAA

Guardian CiF - NEW - Fuelling the debate - no post as yet, oddly

Edie - Biofuel demand 'will increase GHGs'

The Register - Boffinry bigwig puts another boot into biofuels - Obviously not a 'pro' piece. Worth reading for some interesting (and funny) science-savvy comments.

Guardian - Demands for crackdown on biofuels scam - (links in piece to other info, some objective facts) The negatives just keep on piling up, which is a pity, as I am sure that in amongst it all there could be a positive angle to tell.. and embrace. I feel for all those who are trying to make businesses out of doing the right thing, in the right way, but will get tarred by a rather broad brush.

Guardian - Germany drops 'roadmap to biofuels' for cars

Guardian - Poor go hungry while rich fill their tanks - Lumme.. the negatives are piling up. I have to wonder if we are getting the true picture or as extreme a swing away as we had to that got the industry in this pickle.

Observer - Darling calls for urgent review of biofuel policies - That'll crack it, a 'review' is 'called for'.

Telegraph - Biofuel potential for commercially grown grass - rare good news?

Guardian - Biofuels: a blueprint for the future? - Not sure I'd call it a 'debate' as billed, but some views from a couple of bods who should know a thing or two. Trouble is, they are pols.

Newsnight & Indy - via Junkk -

Guardian - Fuelling the food crisis

Indy - Why biofuels could actually mean more CO2 emissions - That's a no form the UK's chemists (well CEO of their society), then.

gas2org - Twenty-Two Biodiesel Myths Dispelled -

Guardian - Brazil rejects biofuels criticism - And how. I have popped the Prez' comment as Quote of the Day

The Register - Royal Navy warships could run on sunflower oil - if fresh - 'Make smoke...d herrings, Number One' Actually, some interesting facts!

SAAB - Fuelling the BioPower argument - Bear in mind that this is from a company who makes a car that runs on the stuff.

Times - Biofuel: a tankful of weed juice

Guardian - The biofuel solution - Were it as simple as inferred

Guardian - Secret report: biofuel caused food crisis - Oh, dear. But shush, it's a secret. And soon there will be another report that says teh exact opposite, I'm sure.

The Grocer - Biofuels to blame for food price rises

Observer - Exclusive: we publish the biofuels report they didn't want you to read - I crank an eyebrow at anyything billed thus, mind.

Guardian - UK biofuel 'not up to standard' - That's alsmost 1 in 5! Whe do I suspect getting it to 38% might get billed by some as 100% improved!

BBC - EU in crop biofuel goal rethink

Times - NEW - Pumping the biofuels, from Rio to the Humber

INFORMATION

BBC Green - Sixty-second-guide-to-biofuels

Guardian - Q&A: Biofuels

Renewable Fuels Agency -
Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO)

Quote of the day - Shining knights... and high horses?

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil weighs into the biofuel 'debate':

"Food is expensive because the world wasn't prepared to see millions of Chinese, Indians, Africans, Brazilians and Latin Americans eat. We want to discuss this not with passion but rationality and not from the European point of view."

Whether you agree or not, it is refreshing to see a statesperson actually say something that does raise the issue of some often pretty sanctimonious finger wagging with often equally suspect motives.

Better than nothing?

Just watching Sir Richard Branson on Breakfast TV.

Not so keen on reporting what will be said (a new, and rather pointless trend) but one key point we will learn come the press conference later is how his Virgin Atlantic fleet will run a biofuel that will not affect the food chain. This was a major concern of mine.

The FoE has already labelled it a 'gimmick' (mot du jour in politics at the moment, too), but Sir. Richard may have had a pop at them talking on flying to international conferences all the time in 'conventional' planes.

It's a dilemma. On the one hand there is the undoubted contributed of air travel to PMWCC, but then there are the practicalities and realities of commercial air travel.

It will be interesting to see just how real this initiative might be as a mitigation.

I remain unclear as to the contribution made by Virgin Galactic, though.

First posted 24/02 - Addenda:

Telegraph - Algae are fuelling Branson's maiden flight - seems they know something the BBC doesn't.

Also just saw a twofer on the morning show again. The FoE guy did not impress; very dogmatic. There was a travel journalist who did; objective and thoughtful. I see this as an interesting one. All agreed it will make no difference to passnger decision, which is based on price. Plus such as this is a drop in the fuel tank compared with flights only one third full vs. full, 1st & Biz vs. cattle for fuel per passenger mile.

Telegraph - Branson: City to suffer without third runway

BBC - Airline in first biofuel flight

Indy - First biofuel flight dismissed as Virgin stunt - Possibly a new PR agency in the offing? But then, there is no such thing as bad publicity.

Guardian - Branson's coconut airways - but jet is on a flight to nowhere, say critics

Gaurdian - Forests cleared for takeoff? - I might have to change the title above. And nice to see Virgin Galactic getting a mention.

Powered by pond scum?

We have briefly mentioned the potential of algae for the production of bio-fuels before. This from Business Week paints an eyebrow raising picture of just how much investment is going into this particular pond. (Well, it didn't sound right to say field!)

Interesting to note just who some of the players are too. A number of the major industrial boys are already significantly into the race.

Palm oil hits troubled waters?

Now we have all read about how palm oil production is increasing rapidly across suitable areas of the planet, especially now that it can also be utilised as a source of bio-diesel.

This from Greenpeace, names some leading British brands which appear to be highly complicit in the destruction of Indonesia's peat swamp forests which are being replaced with palm oil plantations.

The report explains "how peatlands in the Indonesian province of Riau (an area the size of Switzerland) store a massive 14.6 billion tons of carbon (2) - equivalent to one year's global greenhouse gas emissions. Further expansion for the production of palm oil for food and biofuels threatens to release this enormous store of carbon into the atmosphere."

If it is true that "palm oil from companies engaged in forest and peatland destruction is then ‘laundered' through the entire supply chain, ending up with well known" British brands, then I suspect there are going to be some very red faces in forthcoming board meetings.

ADDENDUM (Junkk Male) - Guardian - Big food companies accused of risking climate catastrophe - 'Risking'...bless. Funny, I was just reading about P&G's eco-efforts, along with Shell's green ad being pulled by the ASA, and...

Hitler. Stalin. Pol Pot. Farmer Giles

Biofuels 'crime against humanity'

And yes, before you can cry 'rapeseed', the headlines have taken an issue worthy of consideration and elevated it to the level of the Judgement of Nuremberg.

Oo, 'eck. There's a point in there, but golly is this the way to make it?

Glad I didn't opt for the Saab biodiesel now. Actually, opt isn't quite the word. In fact the words 'couldn't afford' are more like it.

Anyway, yesterday the old Volvo was serviced and passed with flying colours. 11 years old, tuned to perfection, tyres at right inflation, etc.

What was interesting was a certificate I got 'for when plod stops me to do an emissions check' (it clears me, and passes the buck to the garage, at least for 6 months). Seems that beyond the MOT, you can get hauled up and have a probe stuck up your pipe. And if you fail... £80 on the spot. Nice that the priorities are again tip top.

Maybe when they stop the joyrider with no tax, insurance or MOT they can get 'em on a dodgy tune job. That'll hit 'em where it hurts... their pride.

Indy - Ditto

Bio Fools?

As the Severn Barrage may spell the end to a wildlife reserve here, so Victims of the ethanol rush: Loss of the native prairie

I've mentioned this before; and it's brutal.

While there is a slightly more immediate concern about the sacrifice of nature to meet man's energy expectations, if you don't factor in population then it's all academic in a fairly predictable timeframe anyway.

The looming food crisis?

Finally, one of the UK majors has picked up on what Peter was predicting in this very blog many, many months ago. The fact is that the switch of land use to grow crops for bio-fuels rather than for foodstuffs IS having an impact on food prices already.

This from the Guardian Environment highlights just what is already happening in parts of the world. The world price of maize has doubled, whilst UK wheat prices have also doubled over the last two years, from ~£100/tonne to ~£200/tonne (admittedly part of this increase is down to this years yield, which is down from the norm). A loaf of bread in the UK has increased in cost by 20% already this year.

In the US, "where nearly 40 million people are below the official poverty line, the Department of Agriculture recently predicted a 10% rise in the price of chicken. The prices of bread, beef, eggs and milk rose 7.5 % in July, the highest monthly rise in 25 years."

'A "perfect storm" of ecological and social factors appears to be gathering force, threatening vast numbers of people with food shortages and price rises. Even as the world's big farmers are pulling out of producing food for people and animals, the global population is rising by 87 million people a year; developing countries such as China and India are switching to meat-based diets that need more land; and climate change is starting to hit food producers hard. Recent reports in the journals Science and Nature suggest that one-third of ocean fisheries are in collapse, two-thirds will be in collapse by 2025, and all major ocean fisheries may be virtually gone by 2048. "Global grain supplies will drop to their lowest levels on record this year. Outside of wartime, they have not been this low in a century, perhaps longer," says the US Department of Agriculture.'

All in all, prospects don't look too good for the future. A substantial part of the food production in China and India is dependent on what are rapidly depleting (and non-replenishable) water sources. Experts believe that some two thirds of the planet's major fisheries are now at levels where serious and rapid decline in yields is starting to happen. When you then throw in climate change predictions from the IPCC, which suggested that some 20% of the planets crop production will be directly endangered by temperature and rainfall changes; plus the switch by major western farmers to agrofuels; the picture for the planet's poor and undernourished is beginning to look markedly bleak!

"Technologists pin their faith on GM crops, or drought- resistant crops, or trust that biofuel producers will develop technologies that require less raw material or use non-edible parts of food. The immediate best bet is that countries such as Argentina, Poland, Ukraine and Kazakhstan will grow more food for export as US output declines."

Me? I'm uncertain. I know mankind is incredibly adaptable and is capable of amazing things; but these just may be the early warning signals that our voracious appetite for food and resources is reaching the point where self-sustainability is going to become increasingly difficult.

Look what the fuel crisis (as a consequence of a handful of HGV drivers blockading refinery depots) a few years ago did to the UK economy in only a week and a half. Then imagine just what the impact would be if food was largely unavailable in the supermarkets for a similar time period.

Scary isn't it?

MPs to investigate if biofuels are truly sustainable

Why do I dread finding items like this from EnvironmentTimes?

Because of that first little acronym - 'MP'.

After months of investigation no doubt they'll come up with some half cocked conclusions that miss out most of the salient points and ignore loads of the key information and evidence.

"Concerns have also been raised about food security, as a large agricultural shift to fuel production might dramatically increase food prices"

'Concerns'? Its already happening - the evidence is out there for all to see! (See the post on 'Agflation' below).

At least they're asking for input - let's just hope that they accept it, review it, consider it and take it into account! Unfortunately, many parliamentary committees seem to have a tendency to do none of the above very well.

Oh well ...... at least they are actually looking at biofuels now; after all, it's something that just might turn out to be very important in the future of this planet.

Let's hope they include in their deliberations things like ethanol production from a dairy by-product as reported via AutoBlogGreen today.

Sod it. There goes the SAAB (the money to buy it aspect may have been a factor, too)

If we want to save the planet, we need a five-year freeze on biofuels

Oops.

Will the next pro/con sledgehammer issue and its big (corn) oil denier and eco-fascist advocates please take to the stand... the people were in danger of thinking they had some idea of how to help save the planet, at least with personal transport. Seems not. Phew. Imagine if something had been resolved? Where are the op-ed jollies in that!!!

Next thing we'll find out that CarbCon trading is just a nifty way for short-term pols meet targets, tick boxes and make your mates in the City rich enough to fly you around the lecture circuit in their private jets.

I guess I'll hang with the 10 year old Volvo a tad longer.

Actually, there are some good points to be gleaned. I'll let you do that for yourselves.

I love to say I 'told you so', so...

... well, D'uh: Biofuel demand makes food expensive

In the spirit of shared citizen journalism, another forward from Dave of Solarventi, with whom I must move in and between us we may just manage 'A' life.

I suspect I read more e-news than even him, and what worries me is how I see those in politics and business squaring up behind this industry, and I don't think green is the colour they are looking for on the bottom line.

To try and spin it more positively, an Taiwanese guy once eat a Volkswagen. But he may have needed the iron.... glass, rubber...

With all due apologies to Pastor Niemoller..

'First there was the Hybrid, but I do not drive urbanally much, so I did not consider.

Then there was the LPG, but I do not trust Gordon Brown on fuel taxes, so I did not consider.

Then I thought of electric, but it wouldn't get me to the nearest fuel station, much less anywhere else. So I did not consider

And finally, just when I thought bio-diesel was the way to go, there was no sodding thing left to stick in the tank that will do. And the whole thing seemed way beyond consideration any more.'

The Big Green Fuel Lie - no guys, don't hold back, say how you really feel.

Indy - Letters

The more I read, the less I know.

I guess I'll just stick with my trusty Volvo while longer. Just to be safe rather than sorry.

If all else fails, there is always Shank's Pony. I don't get out much anyway:(

Indy - Leading article: A switch to biofuels will not save the planet

ADDENDUM on Grist to a nice comment:

No problem at all , biodiversivist! It's all good, free information exchange, with a few extra Adwords points all round as icing.

And as we're on a roll, or in this case dessert analogy, I can only agree with you and hope you are right.

Shame that the best processes just seem to take their own sweet time, and the quick fixes and those with vested interests is making and shouting about them tend to get in the way en route.