As the myth around global warming begins to unravel and Operation Desperation sets in, it’s important for the public to know why biofuels aren’t the answer to solving global warming. For those that don’t know, biofuels are alternative energy sources derived from living matter, as opposed to fossil fuels, such as oil, which are derived from nonliving matter. The most common biofuel is a blend of gasoline called E85, which means it’s 15% gasoline and 85% ethanol. However, the gasoline and ethanol content changes depending on the season. During cold weather, more gasoline needs to be added to the mixture to ensure the fuel works properly, so E85 is at least 70% ethanol.

If biofuels are going to reduce our dependency on foreign oil, what’s the big deal? Ethanol, without consideration of other factors, could cut our dependency on foreign oil. However, ethanol as a fuel still requires gasoline to function properly. As stated in the previous paragraph, cold weather is especially trying for ethanol and therefore more gasoline has to be added to the mix – as much as 200% more gasoline. Again, if this were the only problem, a 70% overall reduction in regular oil-based gasoline consumption would cause the price of oil to sink like a rock.

But it’s not entirely about the reduction of petroleum-based fuel. Biofuels such as E85 are causing food shortages globally. Corn is the primary food base from which ethanol is derived. Since corn is grown and harvested by farmers, there is a finite amount of land that can be used to produce corn. The demand for the corn crop has grown substantially due to the push for biofuels while the supply has struggled to keep up. Corn is more profitable to grow now due to the increased demand, so those in agriculture are growing more corn at the sacrifice of wheat and soy. Instead of a shortage in one staple crop, corn, there is now a shortage in two additional food staples: wheat and soy. This brings on three new sets of problems: lack of land on which to grow corn and other staples, soaring food prices and, yes, potential starvation of the poor.

Remember the early days of global warming when all it took to save the world was to plant a few trees? As if every day was Arbor Day, the environmentalists pushed their tree-hugging agenda on anyone that would listen. Trees were the cornerstone of the green movement and suddenly every major corporation prominently displayed the recycled content on their containers, proud to be a part of saving the world. Now the tree-hugging philosophy may fail as more land is needed to produce corn – and that land will have to come from deforestation. Millions of carbon dioxide-breathing trees may meet their end as the demand for biofuels increases over the coming years and decades. And a recent study found that converting land to use for biofuel crops worsens global warming. Buy a gallon, kill a tree.

If you eat anything, you’re not immune to the skyrocketing food prices. Just as higher oil prices have caused the price of goods to increase due to higher transportation costs, the price of corn has jumped significantly – around 30% already this year – due to the push of biofuels. As if that weren’t enough, wheat and soy prices have followed similar paths due to short supply, all thanks to global warming and the effort to reduce our collective carbon footprints. Isn’t it the poor that our friends on the environmentally-friendly left always want to help by taking our hard-earned tax dollars and redistributing them to the needy? Get ready to be gouged even more as Hatians are eating mud cookies because they can’t afford corn and residents of Kenya are rioting over food.

You see, the push to stop global warming is hurting the very people that the left-leaning wing of this world has fought so hard to protect make more dependent on the government for subsidies. With food prices causing the poor to become even more destitute, you can count on more tax dollars being pulled from your paycheck to cover the cost. With ethanol costing about the same as gasoline, there are two possible scenarios ahead of us. If those of us that are educated about ethanol choose not to buy the product because of the side-effects, maybe the decreased demand will help food prices to drop.

Unfortunately, ethanol is a government-subsidized product and they can pump more dollars into lowering the price further, which will spark interest in the new fuel and increase demand. It’s a no-win situation for the informed consumer. Our only hope is that global warming is truly found to be a hoax so we can go back living normal lives without fear of potentially starving our neighbors every time we fill up.

Managing Editor, Skeptics Global Warming

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Are you getting bored by all the posturing from politicians and various interest groups about global warming, carbon and carbon trading? I certainly am and I am passionate about the subject. I should think most people are totally “over it”.

Thank goodness Copenhagen came and went. Hopefully the Australian Government will now allow us to have a rational national debate about the issue. They were elected largely on a “green” vote to help prevent global warming and to fix the Murray Darling water problems and in my opinion they have done little that is effective about either.

So what can we do to reduce our carbon emissions? There are three practical suggestions.

1. Increase the size of the renewable energy target and start building gas-fired power stations on the sites of the existing brown-coal power stations. Get brown coal out of the system as soon as possible.

2. We should start taking energy efficiency seriously, in homes and commercial buildings.

3. Help the small to medium business sector to understand the problem and take action to make savings in their businesses.

Then there are other things like sorting out some of the tax subsidies that actually encourage some industry sectors to consume fossil fuels. It certainly makes sense to stop paying polluters before we implement a polluter pays scheme.

My observation of the Australian Government’s proposed scheme is that it will push up prices, subsidise some households so that they have no incentive to change behaviour, leave small to medium business badly squeezed in the middle and have little if any impact on the amount of greenhouse gas emissions from Australia.

On a global scale, we need to help developing countries like Indonesia retain their forests because trees are one of the very best ways to absorb carbon dioxide. At present deforestation globally has the same impact as all the global vehicle emissions every year. If we reduced vehicle emissions AND prevented deforestation that would really make a difference.

What a contrast from the Chinese approach where they are closing the dirtiest power stations, building enormous renewable energy installations, producing most of the world’s solar panels and limiting cars to only drive on alternate days so nearly halving vehicle emissions. They have a huge population so their total emissions are huge but they are miniscule per head compared to ours. And they have set very substantial targets for emission reductions. I don’t see anything sinister in Chinese reluctance to be monitored as I think there would be a huge resistance to international monitoring of US or Australian emissions. I see this as a dignity and trust issue.

A recent survey conducted for BankSA found 69% of business owners and 68% of consumers preferred direct or voluntary action – rather than an enforced emission Trading Scheme – to cut carbon emissions by 5% by 2020.

The survey on sustainability also found that while consumers have embraced targets for mains water conservation, the plastic bag ban 5that is in place in South Australia and bottled water consumption cuts, they reject change in areas that affect quality of life, as shown by a reported rise in power consumption for air-conditioning.

And business owners are yet to be convinced about the selling power of sustainability, with 55% saying they do not believe green credentials attract customers. Only 15% are promoting their environmental efforts and only 13% have any formal environmental certification.

In spite of what they say, almost one-third of consumers are actually using more electricity and gas, as well as fuel for vehicles.

Seeking greater sustainability seemed to be off-limits in other key areas, with 75% of consumers rejecting a switch to toilet paper made from recycled paper and I am with them on that – my bottom does the voting there; and preferring to use their own vehicles instead of public transport. My observations with the transport is the inconvenience of waiting because the services are not a frequent, they are uncomfortable and also dangerous as with no seat belts people get thrown about. Certainly when I fly into Sydney and especially Brisbane, I always catch the train in preference to taxi because it is convenient, faster and much cheaper so even carrying luggage, the train is a better choice.

BankSA Managing Director, Rob Chapman says the results show commitment to sustainability is both price-sensitive and influenced by the desire for comfort and convenience.

“More than 90% of the businesses we surveyed were actively seeking to reduce the amount of waste they sent to landfill, while 69% of consumers said they were prepared to pay more for grocery items produced using better environmental practices,” Rob says.

“However, we also found that lifestyle and cost can be deal-breakers.”

Jean Cannon helps small to medium businesses become truly sustainable with simple and effective management systems. She has now taken her business online and world wide as part of reducing her own carbon footprint.

Jean is both a highly qualified scientist and a business person and she is a true leader in sustainable business.

Get past the hype and confusion and get my Free Report to “Discover how YOU can quickly and easily get your Quality, Safety and Environment ISO accreditation so you increase profits, reduce your risks and attract more clients.” at http://www.enviroaction.com.au and opt-in to get my regular newsletter

Please Note... All links within articles are placed by their author-owners and not by this blog.Products with in those links may or may not be the best in the world.If it sounds too good to be true it could be a scam.Articles are posted for their info,ideas and or entertainment value only.

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