Prof. Hans Werner Sinn, President of Ifo Institute for Economic Research, The DB Doran Lecture on Population, Resources and Development 4 May 2010 The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Faculty of Social Sciences, Is it really a wise and ethically acceptable strategy to burn food rather than eat it? This is one the key questions addressed by Prof. Hans Werner Sinn, President of the Ifo Institute for Economic Research, who spoke at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem on ‘Table or Tank: The Rivalry between Biofuels, Fossil Fuels and Nutrition’. Oil pressed from rapeseed can be used as diesel fuel, and maize or sugar beets can yield ethanol to replace gasoline. The UN and many countries officially share the view that bio-fuel is one option in fighting climate change. The Kyoto Protocol allows countries to meet their target reductions of CO2 emissions by substituting bio-fuels for fossil fuels. However, Prof. Sinn says, ”If we allow food to be used to produce bio-fuels, food prices will be linked to the oil price. Indeed, food prices are currently increasing in Europe, because more and more farmland is being used for bio-fuels instead of for food production. This is not sustainable” ”The problem is that advocates of reducing the greenhouse effect by promoting bio-fuels production have not made clear where the land will come from.” This, explains, Prof. Sinn, means that taking land for the production of bio-fuels from forests means speeding up global warming, because bio-fuel …

The Original Post is Located Here: Table or Tank: The Rivalry between Biofuels, Fossil Fuels and Nutrition

Algae + CO2 = Biofuel

As the term suggests, bio-fuels are fuels that are formed when biological matter, primarily plants, decomposes. Bio-fuels can exist in all the three states of matter: solid, liquid, and gas.

Bio-fuels are different from fossil fuels in the following ways:

• Fossil fuels take millions of years to form whereas bio-fuels can be made extremely quickly, in a matter of days.
• Fossil fuels generate huge amounts of pollution. Bio-fuels are comparatively cleaner.
• Bio-fuels are renewable sources of energy unlike fossil fuels.

Bio-fuels have been categorized into four types: first generation, second generation, third generation, and fourth generation.

The first generation biofuels are derived from vegetable fats, starch, and sugar, which are in turn derived from food crops. The first generation fuels are also derived from animal fats. Biogas, biodiesel, and vegetable oil are some examples of this type of biofuel.

The second generation of biofuels is mainly derived from waste biomass, making it a more balanced option compared to the first-generation biofuels. Different kinds of alcohols and diesel generated from wood fall into the category of second generation biofuels.

The third generation comprises biofuels derived from algae. Algae can be farmed on large scales to create these biofuels, which are extremely environmentally friendly as they can easily decompose into the soil without harming it.

The biofuels in the fourth generation are derived by a method in which micro-organisms are raised to work with carbon dioxide to generate fuel.

Advantages of biofuels

• Biofuels lessen the burden on gradually-vanishing fossil fuels.
• Biofuels are environmentally friendly. They help reduce carbon emissions into the atmosphere.
• Biofuels, especially, biodiesel prove to be very cost-effective for consumers.

Disadvantages of biofuels
Biofuels are not bereft of criticism. Though beneficial for the environment, biofuels have their disadvantages, paradoxically in the environmental purview. Biofuels have received criticism for many reasons, a couple of which are stated below:

• Economists have long debated on the usefulness of first generation biofuels when compared to the lack of food they cause. Generating fuel from food crops makes food crops unworthy of human consumption. Some people believe that being a higher priority than fuel, food should not be farmed for making fuels but for human consumption.
• Making biofuels require acres of farming land, thus encroaching upon the natural habitat of plants and animals.

[relatedposts]

The Original Post is Located Here: Biofuels – What are they and are they any good?