Moving Away From Biofuels
July 8th 2008 18:42
I'm no fan of ethanol as you can read at The Problem With Ethanol. Looks like, others are coming around to my way of thinking.
The Oregonian headlines Europeans backpedal on switch to biofuels
Until recently, European governments had sought to lead the rest of the world in the use of biofuels, aiming to derive 10 percent of Europe's transportation fuels from biofuels by 2020. But the allure has dimmed amid growing evidence that the targets proposed by the European Union may be contributing to deforestation, which speeds climate change, and helping force up food prices
In the United States, one-quarter of the corn crop is going to biofuels. An energy bill passed last year requires that 36 billion gallons of biofuels be produced annually by 2022, but criticism of the policy is growing, including calls to end tax breaks for corn-based ethanol..
In the meantime, DTN Ethanol center reports that 16 ehanol plants are filing bankruptcy..."and there will be at least two to three times that number filing within the next year." The reasons for the turmoil run the gamut from high feedstock costs and a little demand to high cost of leverage. Banks are losers and are not willing to loan more money.
Then there's this unintended consequence. Last summer gardeners and landscapers had it tough finding bark mulch and prices had more than doubled from the previous year. One reason for the lesser supply was the decline in the housing industry. Another reason was more mulch was used for electricity. I guess that could be considered a biofuel.
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