Re: [Marxism] Biofuel turns out to be an eco-nightmare

[Bob Hopson <bobhpsn@xxxxxxxxx>]

I think this article illustrates little about biofuels in general and a lot 
about capitalism.  As long as profit maximization is in command, 'green' energy 
will probably not be very green at all.
 
 The other day I came across this website, theoildrum.com, which had an 
excellent detailed article on practical biofuels:
 http://www.theoildrum.com/story/2006/11/27/0432/3533
 Although relatively apolitical, reading the article makes it clear that 
biofuels only make sense if they're part of a very careful, planned redesign of 
the energy economy to maximise efficiency and minimize environmental impact.  
Needless to say, that's unlikely in the current political and economic climate 
(no pun intended).
 
 After raking up the seemingly endless supply of leave in my yard last fall, I 
started thinking about whether they could be a source of energy.   A google 
search later this article turned up: 
http://www.goodnewsindia.com/Pages/content/discovery/karve.html
 
 It's about an Indian physicist who came up with a scheme to turn sugar cane 
refuse into charcoal.  Normally, this is just burnt in the fields, and 
villagers cut down trees to make charcoal for cooking.  Using the cane leavings 
is probably a net gain in carbon sequestering, since they get burnt anyway but 
this would save a lot of trees.  One would think this is the kind of innovation 
Cuba might benefit from.
 
 It seems to me that discussions about biofuel are a good opportunity to bring 
up the inherent limitations of capitalism.
 
 
 

 
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