Stats on Biofuels in Indonesia and Africa

From The Kel World: I’ve written before on biofuels, looking at their pros and cons, trying to identify the best sources and such. My money is still on algae, switchgrass and hemp because of their high yields and quick crop turnovers. But what’s going on in Africa and Indonesia is a conflagration on people and progress under the guise of green.

Get full text; Support da’ word producer: http://spandadham.com/index.php/kelly/2009/03/30/eco-maniac-forest-for-the-trees

All news about Biofuels: http://forestpolicyresearch.com/tag/biofools/

“Shell is backing the wrong horse when it comes to renewable energy – biofuels often lead to more emissions than the petrol and diesel they replace.” In fact, according to Mother Jones, “Clearing grasslands to plant biofuel crops releases 93 times as much greenhouse gas as will be saved by the fuels grown on the land each year.

Destroying Indonesian peat bogs releases 420 times as much.” And that’s exactly what is happening. Indonesia currently has 16 million acres of oil palm plantations with a goal of 26 million by 2025. This fact has put the nation third (behind the U.S. and China) on the list of CO2 emitters. And the rate of deforestation means that 98% of the Indonesian rain forest will be gone by 2022. In addition to the environmental havoc, whole communities with traditional lifestyles are being wiped out, all in the name of cheap biodiesel.

Over in Africa, the plague is sugarcane-based. In rural Mozambique, a company called ProCana is clearing 75,000 acres of native woodland and savanna to produce ethanol, which is just a drop in the bucket of some 12 million-plus acres that have already been cordoned off for BP and other companies for biofuel production. The government owns all the land and is actively courting agribusiness.

The ruining of land is one issue among many. Another concern is the amount of water used by these multinationals at the detriment of farmers downstream, as well as, once again, the dislocation of indigenous people. So, here we are, ruining the planet (and each other) in the name of saving the very same planet. Where did we go so wrong? Maybe we should’ve taken that left at Albuquerque.