Ithaca Journal, NY
11-13-07
Biofuel criticized for labor conditions, habitat destruction
By Lynn Hicks
Gannett News Service
First came the boom. Now, the backlash.
Biofuels have gotten a bad name around the globe, despite their ability to reduce
oil use.
Whether the blame is fair or not, a negative image could limit the potential to
create more environmentally beneficial fuels, experts say.
Biofuels appear at the root of examples of environmental and humanitarian
abuses around the world:
* Scientist Jane Goodall says the rush to grow biofuels is threatening primate
habitat in Uganda and Indonesia.
* Brazil is trying to crack down on near-slave labor conditions that have helped
keep down the cost of ethanol production.
* Paramilitary groups are forcing peasants from their land in Colombia to make
room for palm oil plantations, raising the specter of “blood biofuels.”
The dark side of biofuels could potentially overshadow their positive effects, said
Raya Widenoja, biofuels researcher with the Worldwatch Institute, an
environmental group. Benefits include cooling an overheating climate and
boosting developing economies.
“Biofuels do have the potential to herald in a brighter, more sustainable future —
if they are developed wisely,” she said.
Widenoja and others worry the biofuels backlash could threaten that future if
public outcry persuades politicians to cut research money or projects. Funding is
critical to develop the next generation of biofuels. Ethanol from sources other
than corn and soybeans could address some of the negative aspects, Widenoja
said.
“It would be rather unfortunate if the public stopped supporting anything to do
with biofuels. It would mean we lose the chance to develop high potential and
sustainable energy sources,” she said.
The problems aren't limited to Third World nations. Corn ethanol production
requires the burning of fossil fuels and threatens water quality and availability,
according to a new study by the National Academy of Sciences.
“What we do here triggers impacts around the world,” including raising the price
of grain, said Chad Hart, an agriculture economist at Iowa State University.
Widenoja said biofuels have intensified agricultural methods that rely on a single
crop and damage the environment through fertilizer and pesticide use. These
practices also perpetuate “social injustices that tend to keep rural areas poor,
agricultural laborers exploited and poor migrants flooding to cities in search of a
better life,” she said.
“But these are all typical agriculture/commodity industry problems. ... Biofuel
producers and consumers haven't invented them, they just haven't solved them,”
she said.
Blaming biofuels may be fashionable, but the issues aren't simple.
For example, the demand for palm and other vegetable oils has damaged
rainforests and other areas, Hart said. But biofuels are only one factor in that
demand. China, India and other rapidly growing nations are consuming more
vegetable oils in their diets, he said.
Hart and Widenoja agreed that governments, biofuels producers and others can
foster better, more sustainable biofuels by encouraging:
* New feedstocks: Most ethanol is made from two crops: corn and sugarcane.
Most biodiesel is made from soy or palm oil. Scientists are studying the energy
potential for plant life not considered a crop, such as algae.
* New fuels: Other biofuels may hold greater promise than ethanol. DuPont and
BP plan to produce butanol from sugar beets in Great Britain. The fuel can be
transported by pipeline — reducing energy consumption — and can offer better
fuel economy than ethanol, the companies say.
“I hope people don't get hung up on ethanol and think that's the only biofuel you
can create,” Hart said.
* Cellulosic: Ethanol from biomass — switchgrass, cornstalks, wood waste and
other plant matter — would answer many critics' concerns about corn ethanol.
“The great thing about cellulosic ethanol is that it can be developed so that land
will remain valuable and farmers can profit from growing food or fuel — and the
fuel sources can be grown in a much more sustainable way than the food crops
have been grown traditionally,” Widenoja said.
Subsistence farmers would increase incomes and improve farming practices, she
said, and land- and labor-rich developing countries could export biofuels and
boost economies.