The Battle Over Biofuels

Biofuels—fuels made from biological matter—have been one of the highest-profile and most highly touted clean energy solutions. But recent changes in the world economy and new studies show that the emerging technology is still in need of major refinement before becoming a viable clean energy resource.

At first glance, biofuels have a number of traits that make them an ideal source of clean energy.  They’re renewable, so the world can rely on them for the foreseeable future.  They integrate easily into the existing infrastructure (you’re already using them to help fill your gas tank), and for countries that consume more petroleum than they produce, biofuels offer the politically stabilizing prospect of energy independence.

Most importantly, on paper, biofuels offer a significantly reduced carbon impact over fossil fuels. Though the combustion of biofuels still results in the release of carbon dioxide, in theory, there’s no additional carbon being added to the atmosphere, because that plants that the biofuel was made from absorbed that carbon from the air as they grew.

But recent research has shown that existing methods of biofuel production do not offer nearly that great an advantage. Initial biofuel studies neglected to calculate the impact of converting existing forests, bogs, and swamps into arable farmland. This quote, from a Princeton University study published in Science this past February, paints a fairly grim picture:

“By using a worldwide agricultural model to estimate emissions from land-use change, we found that corn-based ethanol, instead of producing a 20% savings, nearly doubles greenhouse emissions over 30 years and increases greenhouse gases for 167 years.”

Also, industrially produced crops—corn in particular—require large amounts of fertilizer to grow and and prosper . The nitrogen in these fertilizers can contaminate water supplies, and increase emissions of nitrous oxide, itself a serious contributer to ground level ozone, stratospheric ozone depletion, and global warming.

Further compounding the problem, world food markets have seen a surge in demand during the first part of 2008, leading to widespread food shortages, famine, and political instability. Because current biofuel technology relies almost entirely on food crops such as corn and sugar cane, world leaders have been quick to attack production of biofuels in the developed world, and politicians have proven eager to distance themselves from it.

This isn’t to say that biofuels should be written off entirely. Nearly all studies critical of the use and distribution of food stock biofuels are also quick to point out the cost-effectiveness and efficiency of developing biofuels from agricultural waste and biproducts, like corn husks. Additionally, non-foodstock perennial plants, such as switchgrass, require very little fertilizer and don’t have a direct impact on the global food supply.

So while problems with the current biofuel industry are evident, there remains significant optimism on the part of researchers and clean energy proponents that newer technologies will deliver the benefits of biofuel without the shortfalls. But until these new production methods are proven, many high-profile environmental organizations remain unwilling to fully endorse biofuels as a clean energy solution.