Yay or Nay: Can we make biofuel ethical?
We hear conflicting stories about biofuels, on the one hand they are the answer to our petrol and diesel needs, on the other they are creating third world hunger and destroying the rain forests. Which is true? They can help to reduce the reliance on dwindling oil supplies and generate much less CO2. They have caused hardship to many farmers in Colombia and have led to deforestation in the rush to profit from the biofuel boom. So the answer is yes in both cases.
The EU leaders and Brazil’s president joined forces to urge for an international market to ensure biofuels are produced in an ethical and environmentally sound way. But is this too little too late?
What is needed is strict and enforced regulations to ensure the rise in demand for biofuls does not lead to more of the worlds rainforests being destroyed to make way for biofuel crops. The saving in CO2 from cars using biofuel would be more than offset by the rise in CO2 from the deforestation. The other and equally important point is how the biofuel crop producers, the farmers and farm workers are treated. The whole process needs to have standards in place to protect workers rights, to ensure fair pricing and to ensure biofuel crops do not displace food crops and increase hunger in poorer countries. Whether such a policy can be enforced or even agreed remains to be seen.
YAY, with one condition.
That its NOT imported. The British Isles can cope quite well with producing its own biofuel crops.
Inseat of the goverment paying farmers NOT to grow anything, pay em to plant biofuel crops.
Posted by: Dani | July 6, 2007 10:22 AM