Isn’t it interesting that nothing is ever 100% green, or 100% bad for the environment. The recycling factories consume enormous resources to turn our rubbish into something useful. Electric cars will cause a huge drain on power infrastructure, and probably require more coal fired power stations to remain in service than would otherwise be the case.
And so it is with the wonder petrol substitutes – Palm Oil and Ethanol.
Companies that produce palm oil are stealing large areas of land, usually rainforest, from the indigenous residents, cutting and selling the trees, planting the palm oil trees, and selling the produce internationally. The locals get no land, no livelihood, and any oil they want to buy is at international prices, which of course they cannot afford. The corrupt government of the major palm oil exporting country, Indonesia, is protecting the exporting companies so that the locals with the legal rights have no means of enforcing them, or even of being heard.
We know that Ethanol comes from agricultural products. But what we don’t know is that it generally comes from a crop that otherwise the human race would consume as food – corn. So instead of eating it, we are pouring it into our cars. No big deal, until you remember that probably half the world is living on subsistence level diets. Now what little food they did get, suddenly doubled in price or has disappeared altogether.
Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, chairman of the board at Nestle, reported the same issues:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10714537
Meanwhile in developed countries taxpayers are funding the growth in biofuel use, supporting car manufacturers to improve engines and fuel infrastructure, subsidising pump prices, and generally encouraging the behaviour of the palm oil and ethanol producers. When they are asked, the governments respond with: ‘it’s not our problem, that is what the market wants’. Well of course that is what the market wants, because that is where the governments are throwing the money. Auto and oil companies have never been shy in chasing government subsidies! Car companies will never take the lead in making changes, they have to be forced, kicking & screaming, away from the trough of public funding.
The latest tactic to hide the problem is to change the label of palm oil from ‘bio’ or ‘eco’ fuel, to ‘agro’ fuel. Perhaps this will make the problem go away?
I know that Biofuel is not the answer, but so far my only solution is to walk.
Tags: agri-fuel, biofuel, electric cars, ethanol, Indonesia, palm oil, peter brabeck-letmathe, power infrastructure, rainforest
April 10, 2011 at 12:02 pm |
I’ve meant to post about something like this on my webpage and you gave me an idea. Cheers.