Posted on 03/25/2008 12:37:21 AM PDT by kingattax
Gordon Brown is preparing for a battle with the European Union over biofuels after one of the government's leading scientists warned they could exacerbate climate change rather than combat it.
In an outspoken attack on a policy which comes into force next week, Professor Bob Watson, the chief scientific adviser at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, said it would be wrong to introduce compulsory quotas for the use of biofuels in petrol and diesel before their effects had been properly assessed.
"If one started to use biofuels ... and in reality that policy led to an increase in greenhouse gases rather than a decrease, that would obviously be insane," Watson said. "It would certainly be a perverse outcome."
Under the Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation, all petrol and diesel must contain 2.5% of biofuels from April 1. This is designed to ensure that Britain complies with a 2003 EU directive that 5.75% of petrol and diesel come from renewable sources by 2010.
But scientists have increasingly questioned the sustainability of biofuels, warning that by increasing deforestation the energy source may be contributing to global warming.
Watson's warning was echoed last night by Professor Sir David King, who recently retired as the government's chief scientific adviser. He said biofuel quotas should be put on hold until the results were known of a review which has been commissioned by ministers.
"What is absolutely desperately needed within government are people of integrity who will state what the science advice is under whatever political pressure or circumstances," he said.
(Excerpt) Read more at guardian.co.uk ...
Lets face it: scientists are much better at building crazy contraptions to blow up the world than figuring out ways to save it. Just let them do what we already know they’re good at.
This is absolutely hysterical...
The world is being run by maroons.
Its not that funny. I was talking to a farmer friend of mine recently and he is convinced that if we continue to turn agricultural land over from food production to biofuel there are going to be a serious worldwide food shortage soon.
I’ve been warning the same to my libidiot friends.
Few of them are aware that corn, wheat, and soybean prices have doubled in the last two years, in large part due to this stoopid drive to burn food.
Billy Joel once had a song, called "We didn't start the fire"
According to them, we did.
Actually I’ve heard discussions about setting off nuclear weapons to trigger a mild greenhouse effect, which would preempt GW. I think that’s been replaced now with the idea of scattering millions of tons of sulpher particles into the upper atmosphere. Some people just don’t know when to leave well enough alone...
Good God. Isn’t converting coal to fuel an over 60 year old technology.
biofuel is better than buying oil from ragheads.
BTW, why does the
US have to feed everybody?
Absolutely. My son, a physicist, says he is more afraid of the damage we can do “tinkering” with everything, than he is of the situation as it stands!
Why do mammals have fur? Every bit of energy you use becomes WASTE HEAT. If you INSULATED your own house like mammals are naturally insulated, you wouldn’t NEED biofuels, just FOOD to eat. A rough calc : with a two foot thick layer of urethane foam insulation all around a 1500 sf house(R 168), a couch potato cranking out 1250 BTUH would keep the interior at 72 deg F with outside temp at 32 deg F. You are all looking thru the telescope at new energy sources, look instead at CONSERVATION; why ever do you need to heat the cold, dark night sky by pouring your own heat-money thru your own house windows/poorly insulated walls?
Eventually all these things have to stop at the ballot box. We didn't get lower taxes until we wanted them enough to elect enough people, and one in particular, who would lower them. Right now, at least half of the voters want more taxes and more regulation which is how there are two hard leftists and the RAT side of the equation. Sadly, a majority of the other half of the electorate also wants more taxes and more regulation except that they want 1/3-1/2 as much as the RAT side which is how there is a enthusiastic global warming regulator and reluctant tax cutter on the Stupid Party side of the equation.
The insanity seems like it has a while to go yet.
Why not let the market decide?
Oh, and it is not insane to foist the Kyoto Protocols on mankind before their effects had been properly assessed?
I guess the Vegans are hating life.
I'm wondering if that's what this is really about anyway. The biofuels thing that is. They have to know it's nutty but the USA has the most arable land of any country in the world. Could this be an effort to bring farming up to sell to a hungry world?
Didn’t you used to work for Mother Earth News?
LOL
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