Biofuels may harm more than help
OECD report says that Ethanol and Biodiesel aren't the holy grail that Gov. Rendell thinks they are:
"When acidification, fertilizer use, biodiversity loss and toxicity of agricultural pesticides are taken into account, the overall environmental impacts of ethanol and biodiesel can very easily exceed those of petrol and mineral diesel," it added.
The OECD therefore called on governments to cut their subsidies for the sector and instead encourage research into technologies that would avoid competing for land use with food production.
"Governments should cease to create new mandates for biofuels and investigate ways to phase them out," it said.
1 comment:
The Chesapeake Bay Commission just published a report expressing concern with the potential increase in pollution of the Chesapeake Bay resulting from the increase in farm land used to grow corn for ethanol.
Also, there are real safety concerns with storing large quantities of ethanol. Underwriters Labs has not approved fuel distribution facilities that sell E85 fuel. And, local fire departments are not prepared to battle ethanol fires, which require foam.
In our rush to permit these ethanol facilities, are we compromising public health an safety?
Post a Comment