Biofuel - Issues With Biofuel Production and Use

Issues With Biofuel Production and Use

There are various social, economic, environmental and technical issues with biofuel production and use, which have been discussed in the popular media and scientific journals. These include: the effect of moderating oil prices, the "food vs fuel" debate, poverty reduction potential, carbon emissions levels, sustainable biofuel production, deforestation and soil erosion, loss of biodiversity, and impact on water resources, as well as energy balance and efficiency. The International Resource Panel, which provides independent scientific assessments and expert advice on a variety of resource-related themes, assessed the issues relating to biofuel use in its first report, Towards sustainable production and use of resources: Assessing Biofuels. The report outlined the wider and interrelated factors that need to be considered when deciding on the relative merits of pursuing one biofuel over another. It concluded not all biofuels perform equally in terms of their impact on climate, energy security, and ecosystems, and suggested environmental and social impacts need to be assessed throughout the entire life-cycle.

Although many current issues are noted with biofuel production and use, the development of new biofuel crops and second-generation biofuels attempts to circumvent these issues. Many scientists and researchers are working to develop biofuel crops that require less land and use fewer resources, such as water, than current biofuel crops do. According to the journal Renewable fuels from algae: An answer to debatable land based fuels, algae are a source for biofuels that could use currently unprofitable land and wastewater from different industries. Algae are able to grow in wastewater, which does not affect the land or freshwater needed to produce current food and fuel crops. Furthermore, algae are not part of the human food chain, so do not take away food resources from humans.

The effects of the biofuel industry on food are still being debated. According to a recent study, biofuel production accounted for 3-30% of the increase in food prices in 2008. A recent study for the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development shows market-driven expansion of ethanol in the US increased corn prices by 21% in 2009, in comparison with what prices would have been had ethanol production been frozen at 2004 levels. This has prompted researchers to develop biofuel crops and technologies that will reduce the impact of the growing biofuel industry on food production and cost.

One step to overcoming these issues is developing biofuel crops best suited to each region of the world. If each region used a specific biofuel crop, the need to use fossil fuels to transport the fuel to other places for processing and consumption will be diminished. Furthermore, certain areas of the globe are unsuitable for producing crops that require large amounts of water and nutrient-rich soil. Therefore, current biofuel crops, such as corn, are unpractical in different environments and regions of the globe.

In 2012, the United States House Committee on Armed Services put language into the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act that would prevent the Pentagon from purchasing biofuels that offered improved performance for combat aircraft.