30304: Clerie (reply):Re: 30299: Morse (comment) Castro/biofuels (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

from: philippe@gcal.net

Castro has a point. Corn prices are going up because of demand for corn
ethanol. It's conceivable that cane sugar prices could also go up for the
same reason, which should please him.

There are other concerns. For example, in Brazil, the Amazon rain forest is
being cleared for sugar cane plantations at an accelerated rate.

There are also some doubts about the actual value of biofuels. If you look at
it simply as a fuel to fuel comparison there is actually some reduction in
carbon dioxide production. However if you start looking at the efficiency of
the entire chain, it's a different ball game. For example, it takes a lot of
energy to grow corn, harvest it, transport it and produce ethanol. These
processes will all release carbon dioxide as by-product. Question is how much
and is it worth it?

This is pretty much new territory and all the trade-offs are not yet known.
There is space for fear, uncertainty and doubt. Demagogues will have fun with
this.

As far as Haiti is concerned, cane sugar is probably the only crop that could
be grown here for biofuels. The process may be positive for us since we would
burn the bagasse to make the ethanol. The amount of CO2 released is
equivalent to the amount absorbed by the plant while growing. So it's a
nearly CO2 neutral process.

--


Philippe

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The trouble with common sense is that it is so uncommon.
<Anonymous>