Did you see the irony of the need for bio fuel ??

Question

This was on the news a couple of nights ago.

They are cutting down MILLIONS of acres of rain forest, so they can plant crops that produce natural oil which is to be used in bio-fuel to reduce carbon emissions to save the environment !!!!!!

Okay, I am skeptical about the whole 're-cycle' 'Global warming' 'Must reduce carbon footprint' 'my one re-cycled can will counter act the lack of China re-cycling' 'Wooah!!! LIVE EARTH - that'll save the planet' thing - but I could not help but laugh at this.

Bit like a Dr chopping off someone's head to cure a headache !!!!!!!

Answer 1

Thought i was the only one out there who thought this, glad someone else is watching the news.

Perhaps we should post this to the Green Party and the Government, and anyone else that talks about deforestation.

Answer 2

Campbel is right, in that what we are doing now is just a new problem in a never-ending cycle but we aren't depleting our supply of whale blubber any more now we're depleting our oil. The biggest problem to the planet however is none of these things; it's the fact that we as a species are growing out of control. As unethical as it is to put a limit on family size like China did it will at some point either be mandated family sizes or even worse mass-starvation than there currently is.

I'm an asshole for saying this but I laugh every time I see the christian children's fund to feed starving kids in Africa not because I don't feel sorry for them or sympathize with the situation but simply because in 50 years if we don't control the population, it'll be starving people all over the world including here all over the US simply because the planet can only support so much biomass.

Biofuel is a good idea but right now there is no large-scale concensus on the best way to get it. The best I've seen so far was using parts from old cars and converting the hydrocarbons to usable biofuel. Assuming population wasn't spiralling out of control on the planet, biofuel is still not the answer because eventually if you burn everything that will burn all that will be left for the most part in the environment will be CO2, N2, O2 and other non-combustibles.

Ultimately, what we need to do to eliminate our carbon footprint as it is is to harness the natural forces that nature gives us already: wind, water, solar, thermal, and other renewable energies. Think about the amount of energy that Niagara falls generates every year at their power plant with minimal impact on it's environment. Imagine harnessing every waterfall on the planet for energy.

Answer 3

I think you are right and wrong.

You are wrong to be sceptical about global warming. It is a very serious problem that will cause enormous social and economic upheaval unless we act quickly. And by upheaval I mean serious suffering for all of us. It is so serious that our politicians are afraid to tell us the whole truth and what needs doing. That is why they have appointed the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change - to spell it out and recommend actions. I shall put a link to their report below.

But you are right to think that growing bio-fuel is not the answer. Bio-fuel crops do absorb about as much CO2 when growing as they release when burnt but ploughing, sowing, harvesting and transporting cause CO2 emissions too so we are worse off overall. This is made worse when forests are cleared for the crops. And when farmland is used then that pushes up the price of food.

No the real answer to the global warming problem and the associated problem of resource depletion (fossil fuels becoming more expensive) is just what you have expressed scepticism about. We need to reduce demand for stuff, re-use stuff rather than replace it needlessly and recycle what can not be re-used.

You are right to think that a few individuals can not make much direct impact by doing these things. But by doing them you will demonstrate to the politicians that there are votes to be had by adopting sustainable policies and you will demonstrate to others that a simple, less wasteful lifestyle is more fun than trying to keep up with your neighbours.

I am glad that you recognise that bio-fuel is not the answer. I just hope I have helped you to see what really can make a difference.

Best wishes

Answer 4

It can probably be done by a master mechanic but might require so much modification that it might be more labor and cost effective to just start with a diesel engine instead, for which there already exist alternative fuel solutions requring considerably less engine modification. Some newer, mass production "flex-fuel" automobiles can run on either gasoline or ethanol or a combination of the two in various proportions ("gasohol") so apparently it is possible to design a non diesel engine to burn certain types of alternative fuel, at least that one type, anyway.

Answer 5

I saw this particular news item, and was horrified that these trees were being decimated to provide land for growing bio fuels. There is no excuse for such vandalism, I do not blame the inhabitants of the area, they are just trying to earn a living as best they can, it is the super powers who should be held responsible, and put a halt to such actions.

Answer 6

I kind of agree, but not completely. There is a reason we use coal and oil. Using wood to make charcoal to smelt iron was forbidden in England HUNDREDS OF YEARS AGO due to DEFORESTATION. When we learned to make coke form coal, steel manufacturing took off. The first oil wells were drilled before cars were invented. The oil was used to make kerosene which replaced whale oil in lamps (before electric lights were invented). So coal mining saved the forest and oil drilling saved the whales! And whatever new idea we get to solve global warming will cause some other problem, and the solution we find for THAT problem will cause other problems. It is a never ending cycle.

Answer 7

The REAL problem is overpopulation. the Earth has 3 times the sustainable population. We need 2 billion which was the population around1880, not 6.7 billion

Answer 8

ITS ******* INSANE!!! I would rather carry on with petrol than use bio-fuel produced in this way, totally CRIMINAL!!!!

Answer 9

I know, i think this bio/hybrid stuff is stupid...

has anyone heard of electric cars? they can be powered by fusion reactors, which will be safe and clean and basicly gettting engergy from nothing..

Answer 10

i agree with Teddy.

Waste of time and effort.

You will be dead before it has any effect