Archive for June 9, 2015
Problems with biofuels
Jun 9th
Researchers find sweet source for aviation biofuel
By Mark Kinver
Environment reporter, BBC News
8 June 2015
This proposal leaves out a couple of important factors in the equation.
(1) Growing sugarcane on marginal land will require lots of water and fertiliser. It intensifies the implementation of what is becoming a process of the colonisation of Earth as a huge human food garden. Life on Earth is not all about humans.
(2) Our ecosystem sequesters carbon. Growing sugarcane for biofuel for aircraft power simply redistributes CO2 from lower levels of the troposphere to the stratosphere where other elements such as nitrogen destroys ozone and adds soot and other noxious chemicals.
(3) The better answer is the gradual limitation of air travel by various means which are doable but require a change in our behaviour. Our economic system is on a course of self-destruction and disintegration. Let us have a good look at it and change while we can.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-33051949
“Ecosystems regulate Earth’s climate by adding and removing greenhouse gases (GHG) such as CO2 from the atmosphere. In fact, forests, grasslands, peat swamps, and other terrestrial ecosystems collectively store much more carbon than does the atmosphere (Lal 2002). By storing this carbon in wood, other biomass, and soil, ecosystems keep CO2 out of the atmosphere, where it would contribute to climate change. Beyond just storing carbon, many systems also continue to accumulate it in plants and soil over time, thereby “sequestering” additional carbon each year. Disturbing these systems with fire, disease, or vegetation conversion (e.g., land use / land cover (LULC) conversion) can release large amounts of CO2. Other management changes, like forest restoration or alternative agricultural practices, can lead to the storage of large amounts of CO2. Therefore, the ways in which we manage terrestrial ecosystems are critical to regulating our climate.”