Time Magazine calls biofuels a scam

Good for Time Magazine to report on this. Biofuels aren't necessarily a scam, but ethanol, and corn ethanol especially seems to be. There have been massive subsidies and investments into corn, without sound science, and without smart planning. It usually takes more energy to create fuel out of corn than it ends up producing.

This is news?

I'm surprised Time was the magazine to come out on this side of the issue. It's about time.

All biofuels have done is raise the price of corn to the point where it's dicey in Mexico and to the staple of corn tortillas.

It's a sham as is the entire Global Warming issue being foisted on a public which seems these days to thrive on self hatred for being American. I've even heard it called "White Guilt".

Whatever.

I just wish people actually made their decisions after looking at both sides of an issue rather than just rely on your party status viewpoints on any given subject.

Oh and by the way? How's that "Global Cooling" that was predicted a number of years ago working out? Same people perpatrating the myths, just a different message.

Think about it people...

DUDE! Biofuel is an umbrella term, it is used to refer to different types of alternative fuels. SO sick of this propaganda. sigh.

For biofuel, Ethanol is not worth even considering. The ratio of energy in : energy out makes ethanol wasteful to begin with.

Biodiesel is good when waste oil is used. Also, check out the link on Algae biodiesel.

http://current.com/items/88880454_first_algae_biodiesel...

Ethanol pretty much releases as much carbon dioxide as its oil counterpart in its conversion from corn to ethanol. Why bother, at that point?

Thank you Time Magazine. Biofuel is not a great idea. Solar and wind power needs to be utilized to generate more power and we need to force our auto makers to produce electric cars. Plus we need fast rail in this country.

Well said, Marilynn. Speaking of high-speed rail, you should know that John McCain is strongly opposed to funding Amtrak, and his candidacy would be a step in the wrong direction. Our massive interstate system needs to be overhauled, and we should invest billions into making high-speed rail networks a reality for our giant country.

We need MAGLEVS running across the country!
We need electric Smart Cars!
We need more widespread public transportation!

Going off what Stephen said, we also need cleaner ways of getting electricity, so that electric cars are 100% green.

WOW! Yes, to everything. People that think like we do should organize for strength. The vast majority of people want these things and don't know what to do about it.

There are many ways to approach the issue of reducing greenhouse gases and so forth, one of which is to stop eating beef!

For many years I was involved with and performed research and development on high performance and racing engines (and I am also a tree hugger). As a result, I came to the following conclusion: fuel provided us by the oil monopolies places limitations on engine design - LIMITING the potential for and level of efficiency (and horsepower production) of internal combustion engines. As a result, oil companies by the specific formulation have "built-in" a means of maintaining levels of fuel consumption and consequently exhaust emissions from mass produced engines.

To illustrate the variability of fuel formulations on the production of horsepower and efficiency: the fuel used by top fuel drag racing allows the engines to produce twice as much horsepower per combustion cycle (per cubic inch) than more conventional racing fuels. I'm not advocating the use of this fuel, but illustrating the point.

Water injection such as often used on turbo charged engines and air craft offers the potential to bandage the poor fuel formulation. It may turn out to be the best possible means.

Organizing is good, but seeking out people who aren't on board and engaging them is what getting organized is ultimately about. So right now, everybody in the choir needs to hit the streets and have lots of face time with doubters and those who just don't know enough to have it as a priority, personally and politically.
Changing behavior, whether it be in consumption or voting, needs education and a trusted friend who one can ask questions of.
Lots of people want to hear from someone who isn't a politician, journalist or salesman, especially on an issue that seems so overwhelming.
As for Time coming out on this issue, this is more of a gauge on the lag time required for good thinking to make it to mainstream media than anything else. It also shows how labels can be confusing. Biomass is still a bio fuel that isn't necessarily burning to generate heat. But watch it get dumped when agribusiness decides to lobby something else to stay at the federal trough.

Since Scliced Bread Contest. The people voted and this was #49 out of thousands of ideas.

Fast Rail Service
Submitted by Marilynn M. in Texas
America needs a fast rail system. Rail service is almost nonexistent now. We need at least two lines East to West with North South arteries to big cities. People would willingly use fast rail to go cross country. Families would benefit tremendously by being able to live away from cities with a fast commute to city jobs.

This could be accomplished with a WPA type program. Better pay and benefits. No Halliburton contracts. There are thousands of people out of work that would be glad to learn construction jobs. The huge tax cuts could be rescinded to help pay for this.

We need to modernize and have an alternative to air and automobile travel soon.

It is irresponsible for local, state and the federal government not to invest in desirable mass transit - rail systems.

In Brazil this is a problem especially because 30% of its people live on less than two dollars a day, and much of the arable land is owned by the rich with a power struggle regarding land rights currently taking place.

The tragic murder of environmentalist and peoples' advocate Sister Dorothy Strang brought this to the forefront, and it is said that the current president of Brazil, Lula, is working to bridge the gap between rich and poor. Of course, I don’t see how signing any pact regarding biofuels with Bush on behalf of companies like Archer Daniels Midland that controls more than half of the grain market business accomplishes that.

There is a risk that the rush in seeking solutions may just wind up giving us more problems than what we started with if not handled correctly with the same status quo controlling our lives. This should not only be an opportunity for people on a global scale to change lifestyles to save this planet, but also an opportunity for the poor of our world to finally have a place in the solutions that will not only benefit the sustainability of our world for us and our children, but also finally bring parity between those who have always controlled our fate at our own detriment.In the case of corn ethanol, we are falling into the same trap of being enslaved by the likes of Archer Daniels Midland and other agribusiness companies as we are now to Exxon, Conoco, etc., and that is why I do not support Obama's nor Clinton's plans regarding corn ethanol.

That is why I also believe it is so important to have Al Gore and others out here speaking as advocates for people and to mobilize smaller companies into taking on the task of becoming involved in the biofuel market in a way that will sustain the environment and the livelihoods of the people indigenous to those areas. What Mr. Gore is doing as a global environmental advocate is now the most important thing he could be doing in standing up to the status quo and in seeking a new way of not only doing business, but living.

A recent UN Biofuel Report Sustainable Bioenergy; A Framework For Decision Makers shares those sentiments as well as it looked at the link between biofuels, deforestation, and food production, and the harm that a rapid change to biofuels could make if communities involved are excluded from ownership without the right ecological balance, especially regarding damage to land and water usage. Again, this all goes back to our moral code that Mr. Gore so correctly speakis about in An Inconvenient Truth.

And in reading the UN Biofuels Report, I too have concerns, even though I do believe that biofuel is a very viable renewable energy source that must be pursued vigorously (along with solar power) especially by developing nations looking to bring themselves out of poverty while providing a way for the global community to lessen its impact upon this world in order to mitigate climate change.

One of my concerns is that companies like Archer Midland Daniels will use its influence to entice farmers in countries with limited agricultural land to switch from food production to biofuel production exclusively. And even though that might lift some out of poverty, if not handled correctly it could lead to higher food prices, water scarcity (which already exists particularly in South America due to glacial melt) and more environmental degradation of the land.

It is also fact that privatization of resources has many times only exacerbated environmental devastation. This is why I do not believe in clearing forests to specifically use land only for biofuel crops, especially in developing countries where water resources are already scarce and available agricultural land limited.

continued: I believe making cellulosic ethanol as a biofuel is a much better way because the cellulose contained in the stalks of corn for example, would not deplete the food supply (which is important with the world population set to reach 9 billion.) I also think switchgrass (because it is a very low water intensive plant, drought resistant, and can be grown in warm climates) hemp, and other second generation biofuels are more viable because they have much fewer well- to-wheel CO2 emissions, but there is much we need to learn about them, and we must do it in a very short time.

Which brings me to the biggest concern I have in all of this, which is replacing what may be cut down to be used for biofuel. Without replacing trees cut down to make way for biofuel plants, we would essentially be pumping more CO2 into the atmosphere, and that defeats the purpose. Therefore, any country devoted to taking on biofuel production must have a sustainable plan where trees will be planted to offset the deforestation that would ensure an energy balance.

The bottom line to all of this then is ensuring a way for new technologies to provide what we need in a world that is also aware of any repercussions to economic markets and the lives of those already being affected by the climate crisis, as well as the ecological impact they will have. Biofuels offer one of the few options to effectively mitigate climate change (especially in areas where solar and other sources may be hard to get) but if not handled correctly it will lead to the exacerbation of other problems in the developing world that would in essence negate the good being done.

And while I agree with this article in regards to food prices, use of land, etc. I really wish it had showcased the advances being made in research with other forms of biofuel and biodiesel. Not all of it is bad. It is as if Time were really doing a nice cover story for the oil industry as well. And sorry for the long response. I guess you can tell where my heart lies. ;-).

Well, I think the the 400 lb gorilla in the room is being ignored... and that is a discussion on population. Set to reach 9 billion with less resources. We are overextending ourselves regardless of the energy sources we use. That is why I think any global climate treaty must discuss family planning and contraception in the developing world, as the poor will and are feeling the effects of the climate crisis more than others. It won't matter how much we conserve in the longrun if population continues to increase at the pace it is. We need education as well as conservation.

Wow! What a great discussion this pod is. There are many very smart people who can really contribute to by greatly expanding one's ability to look more deeply at important issues.

2 words : "soylent green " .

different region of the country hold different advantages... but overall I think wind energy is where its at.

I agree with all of your statements... but I did a project back early last year in undergrad and I exposed the bad side of ethanol or biofuel.

Here's the article I had used

http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/070204/12eth...

The sad thing is that this has caused more harm than happiness. The car manufacturer has been producing cars that uses the biofuel but not in every state you can get a gas station that offers e-85.

To me it seems kinda like a waste of time and it's making the rich, richer and the poor, more poor and having less food each day.

You don't have to use corn to make ethanol. Time Mag is turning tabloid on us by printing the double talk about ethanol taking food from starving people. Only reason we started using corn for ethanol in the US is cause, at the time, we kept having surpluses in corn. The best ethanol producers don't use corn at all.

Brazil uses NO corn. They use sugar cane. You know those two products that are being scarfed down by obese kids, corn and sugar cane? Thats what is going to cause starvation if we use them for ethanol instead of candy and cake?

Before I retired, I worked at building industrial plants like ethanol plants. My first ethanol job was in 1981. Heck, I don't know anything about ethanol! And neither does that guy who wrote the Time article. He gets paid for writing words. Doesn't matter if they are obfuscation. He still gets paid for it. If I was an oil company or a OPEC member I would probably buy him a new type writer!

There is such thing as the electric car. They made them in the eighties, but the oil companies complained to the government, saying it would kiil their sales. We all know where the gonverment's money comes from.....the oil companies. The government then order all electric cars demolished. See "Who killed the electric car?" It explains everything.

This then brings up the next topic: Where does the power come from? Solar

Life is hard when you're stupid. D

Solar and wind.

Congratulations Time Magazine its about time. Cars using ethanol get less mpg while wasting valuable food product. Earlier fuel additives like MTBE were the right choice. The only harm they caused was when they leaked from storage tanks to groundwater. One would think the most profitable companies in the world could put in place a leakproof storage methodology.

does anyone else see stock car racing as a slap in the face. i mean we know vehicle emissions are bad, very bad, so can we stop with the unecessary use of fuels and unecessary sports and all of these things.
this is all remnant of roman decadence.
this will be the fall of the great empire america.
this is a tangent. so i'll stop talking now.

Worse yet are all the long haul trucks, that could be on trains.

Solar powered trains! ;)

Ecological modernization is the trojan horse of a new world order. Bio fuel will not solve our problems, it follows the neoclassical assumptions of substitution. I think solutions will be found in electronic technology, renewable energies, and simpler living.
Please dont lump environmentalist with the majority who support ecological modernization and know nothing other than they are told. .

Danitassin, I was reading all these responses and I was thinking: what about electric cars; isn't someone going to say something about electric cars? Thank you. I mean: screw alternative fuels, lets just make an electric car that is afordable for everyone. Its not that far fetched. I said it on another pod recently: In India they;re building a car for about 2 grand. Now if auto manufacturers can design a fuel consuming car for 2 grand, and other cars like the Sanato are available for 10 grand, then why can't they bring down the prices of electric cars. I'd buy one tomorow if they weren't so damn expensive.

Yes it's about time someone spoke the truth. Public transit is what are next steps need to be. Bring back trains that connect states/cities and are efficient and fast. Where is our magnet train?

Time just stated the obvious

dirkglitchmann - I'd totally disagree with your assessment of stock car racing. We have those guys and those