Posted on 01/28/2012 11:23:35 AM PST by Olog-hai
Greenhouse gas emissions from biofuels such as palm oil, soybean and rapeseed are higher than those for fossil fuels when the effects of Indirect Land Use Change (ILUC) are counted, according to leaked EU data seen by EurActiv.
The default values assigned to the biofuels compare to those from Canadas oil sandsalso known as tar sandsaccording to the figures, which should be released along with long-awaited legislative proposals on biofuels in the spring.
A spokesperson for the European Commission said she could not comment on leaked documents, such as impact assessments, which have not been published.
But industry and civil society sources described the data as credible and in line with other studies. One said it would sound a death knell for the biodiesel industry, if published.
I think the science has proved clearly that because of the link to deforestation in places such as South East Asia, a lot of the biodiesels have significantly negative impacts on the climate, Robbie Blake, a spokesman for Friends of the Earth, told EurActiv.
(Excerpt) Read more at euractiv.com ...
In my view, turning soybeans into diesel is as dumb as turning corn into ethanol.
They do have a solution. A Bipartisan Group of US Senators Calls on EPA to Refrain From Including Indirect Land Use Change in Biofuel Regulations
17 March 2009 A bipartisan group of 12 US senators led by Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) has called on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) not to include calculations of indirect land use change (ILUC) effects as contributors to life-cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for biofuels in the upcoming rulemaking for implementation of the updated Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS-2) enacted in the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007.
The Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS-2) defined within the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 requires biofuels to meet specified life-cycle greenhouse gas emission reduction targets to qualify. The law specifies that life-cycle GHG emissions are to include direct emissions and significant indirect emissions such as significant emissions from land use changes, as determined by the Administrator.
Depending upon the assumptions and boundary conditions set in the ILUC evaluation, the result can dramatically increase the calculated GHG footprint of a biofuel, far offsetting the presumed greenhouse gas benefits of its use.
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2009/03/bipartisan-group-of-us-senators-calls-on-epa-to-refrain-from-including-indirect-land-use-change-in-b.html
The real answer is to get the FedGov out of the business of regulating so-called greenhouse gases.
This report does not even take into account the destruction of forests to ‘grow fuel’ like palm oil
Palm oil: the biofuel of the future driving an ecological disaster now
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2007/apr/04/energy.indonesia
Pregnant orangutan mother and child rescued at last minute from knife-bearing bounty hunters in Borneo
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/pregnant-orangutan-mother-child-rescued-minute-knife-bearing-bounty-hunters-borneo-article-1.1013270?localLinksEnabled=false
Bipartisan Dishonest Accounting FOR GWG reference bump - fraud + more fraud = ? A: One big fraud. Sheeesh.
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US NAVY $44/gallon BIOFOOL |
US AIR FORCE $59/gallon BIOFOOL |
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