Biofuel: 'Good as an idea, bad in practice'

In the past few years, the world has woken to the concept of biofuels in a big way. Large tracts of land and considerable policy space in both, the developed and the developing nations, are dedicated to these alternative sources of energy. And rightly so, since carbon emissions have reached unprecedented levels and oil prices too touch a new high almost everyday.

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Will biofuel really turn out to be the universal remedy and replace the fossil fuel? Does biofuel cut our use of fossil fuels or exhaust more energy in their production than they offer when they are eventually worn? Or they just become completely futile, expensive and counter-productive?

Before going all out or passing a hasty verdict, which may turn self-contradictory later, there are certain ramifications -whether biofuels are efficient or not and what their eventual environmental impacts might be - needs to be addressed in detail.

Why Ethanol?

The world reserves of petroleum are estimated to be just about 1.3 trillion barrels and the worldwide consumption of petroleum was about 29 billion barrels a year by 2003. The world-wide energy consumption is increasing on an average by 2% per year, says the American Energy Information Administration (EIA) and the International Energy Agency (IEA), doubling the energy consumption every 35 years.

As fossil fuels are being consumed at much faster rates than they are generated, we will sooner or later exhaust them completely. Therefore, some extensive as well as efficient energy substitute to cater ever growing demand should be there to sustain the growth worldwide. And biofuels, though, may not look the best solution to the swelling demand of energy, they do provide a practicable alternative to combat petrol deficiency and greenhouse crisis looming over the globe.

Not only biofuels provide an eco friendly or clean energy to let the world go at its tempo, but they also gives an opportunity to even the most far off places to grow and join the mainstream. In a straight line, production of biofuel directly results in rapid development of rural areas. Biofuels are turning out to be a lifeline for the farming industry, breathing its last due to rapid industrialization and job opportunities in cities, across the world.

Last but not the least, biofuels will provide a reliable energy replacement, in case of total consumption of fossil fuel, and give a much desired energy security worldwide. On the whole, development of biofuel can be perceived as an economic, environmental and agricultural enhancement in different parts of the world.

Biofuel, a boon or a bane

Biofuel, if not handled properly will lead to the aggravation of other problems that are thick and interminable. As with every effort to augment our energy needs, this one too is fraught with some negatives.

Fossil-fuel sucks, there's really no two ways about it. However, the wild goose chase for biofuel has also raised different environmental and social concerns that may well imbalance the world order.

Food crisis

It just looks as if biofuels are a complete own-goal in real terms. And worse still, they make food more expensive and scarce. For the UN annual assessment of farming trends up to 2016, jointly prepared by the World Food Organization and the OECD, has projected an extensive hike in food prices in the near future as biofuels will share a large amount of sugarcane, maize and oilseed rape, giving way to meat-based diets in rapidly developing nations.

In addition, the switch to growing fuel crops will take land out of food production and increase the price of commodities such as sugar, maize and palm oils. The rush to energy crops will encourage intensive, industrial agriculture at the expense of sustainable food production, leaving millions of poor people starving in most of the underdeveloped regions.

Deforestation

Taking into account that the future existence will require macrobiotic fuels, the world is going crazy for biofuel considering its eco-friendliness and the money that is at stake. At the most, biofuel is the only invention that can be mass produced at a low cost.

Unfortunately these efforts to go green are coming at the cost of natural habitat of the wildlife. In another illustration to the detail, across Europe about 40% of agricultural land will be required to grow biofuel crops that would paradoxically meet the 10% fossil fuel swap objective. As it would not be possible to meet the demand of arable land, is likely to shift the burden on land in developing countries. Biofuel demand from the West, including Europe and North America has incited mass deforestation in the developing countries, paving the way for disastrous environmental consequences.

Moreover, the environment protectors argue that cutting down forests to grow crops for fuel causes more environmental damage than using biofuels can ever balance, as biofuel expansion is already causing rainforest destruction and the displacement of large number of communities as well as extinction of rare bird and animal species.

Water crisis

Considering the fact that fresh water for drinking as well as irrigation use is already in short supply in many parts of the world, now, rapid increase in biofuel crops is in any way going to help the cause but aggravate the problem. For most of the biofuel crops require a good mass of water for irrigation, water crisis appears just inevitable in the days to come.

Is there any way out?

While experts say the emphasis should be placed on increasing the efficiency of fossil fuel use and moving to carbon-free alternatives such as renewable energy, electronic vehicles with increasing technology could be an ideal substitute for both the fossil and biofuel.

Every region will yield reductions in greenhouse gases as we increase the number of plug-in cars. That includes the worst, most coal dependent areas. Of course, as our efforts to green the grid take effect, and that's happening already, plug-in cars yield even greater reductions in GHGs. And ultimately, you can get no cleaner car than an electric car using wind or solar generated electricity.

Plug-in Hybrids could be another alternative but then there is no point in pivoting the heart here. Plug-in hybrids eat up heavily on electricity without really giving the feel of an automobile, something which Biofuel maneuvered sedans manage to score better on. Nanotechnology is another option which allows for an improved efficiency of products across the board but at this point of time it would mean staring in the face of a tentative future, again a dicey penchant.

Development of alternative energy industries - including nuclear, hydroelectric, solar, wind and geothermal energy - which currently account for a combined 14 percent of energy consumed worldwide, could also prove a boon in tackling the swelling energy problems.