The attached charts show
(i) how poorly temperate agrofuels (liquid biofuels from crops or forestry, excluding algae) compare with wood used directly to replace coal as a land-use for mitigation. In simple terms the latter was found to be 5x-10x more effective. "WTW biomass options slide" taken from Concawe Well-to-Wheels study (2007)
(ii) how biomass (and some hydro dams) are a very poor land-use for energy compared with wind, solar or geothermal - orders of magnitude poorer. "Energy Footprints" taken from Pimentel et al. (2002)
Caution: these tables should not be used for hard-and-fast estimates of each energy pathway's performance as there are several complicating issues.
Other key relevant graphs and charts:
BBC News: The living planet: facts and figures. Comparative per capita ecological footprints, ecological debts of different countries, and link to Global Footprint Network for more data and brief introduction to methodology (2006)
New Scientist: Forget biofuels - burn oil and plant forests instead. Introduction to findings of Righelato and Spracklen's study with journal citation (2007). Reforestation was found to be 2x-9x more effective for mitigation than planting biofuels. See also blogs by Renton Righelato at Scitizen and World Land Trust. Beware of misquotation of this study's findings, variously by The Guardian, King Review and Greenpeace.
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| Energy footprints.jpg | 121.09 KB |
World Bank working paper: Biofuels 75% to blame for grain inflation: here
ActionAid: Three nails in the coffin: the G8's contribution to the global food crisis: here
IFPRI, IRRI heads call for moratorium on grain-ethanol and biodiesel, attack "biofuels frenzy": here
Reuters: IMF Head calls for halt to turning food into fuel, warns worst of hunger is yet to come (Apr 18): here says the head of the IMF
Guardian Food on the shelves, people can't afford it (Apr 5): here world food crisis
New York Times reports - One lever West can pull is to halt biofuel production: here
Stefan Tangermann OECD Agriculture Director - "It is the only lever on which we can act rapidly": here
OECD Press Release and link to report OECD’s Economic Assessment of Biofuel Support Policies
New Statesman editorial: here
Mark Lynas in New Statesman: How the rich starved the world here
Reuters: "Stop using food for biofuel, West told": here
Reuters: India, Africa urge biofuel rethink: here
Biofuel programmes worldwide are now actually hindering African food production by creating a shortage of mineral fertilizer. here http://tinyurl.com/65rk4c
Fewer African crops planted, fertilizer suspected: here, 2/3 into article.
Parliamentary Answer over halting RTFO: here
EU Joint Research Council report Biofuels in the European Context: here http://tinyurl.com/688cog
Grist: Iowa state university: Cellulosic ethanol not viable by 2022: here http://tinyurl.com/6gw2d5
Scharlemann and Laurance on Zah et al.: here http://tinyurl.com/5vkkl9
Fargione et al. and Searchinger et al. on carbon debt of biofuels: here
DfT Carbon and Sustainability Reporting Within the Renewable Transport
Fuel Obligation Requirements and Guidance Government Recommendation
to the Office of the Renewable Fuels Agency: here
New Scientist on Carbopeat palm/acacia/peatland emissions: Bog Barons. here http://tinyurl.com/26qtzk
Sciencedaily on Carbopeat palm/acacia/peatland emissions: here
Biofuelwatch email to MP: here
EU agrofuel moratorium call: here
Directories of MPs: here
Ferran Tarradellas in the Guardian: here
Rudi Vis' EDM World Food Availability and Biofuels: here
Renewables a good bet, minus ethanol: fund mgr here
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