Friday, January 25, 2008

Biofuels - no free lunch

A UN report warns that the rush to switch to biofuels is raising the cost of staple foods like corn, will likely worsen water shortages in some areas, and will lead to the destruction of more rain forests in Indonesia for palm oil plantations, among other effects.
COMMENT: The point here is that decisions like this are complicated. People in office, or running for office, are always tempted to offer simple solutions. With a problem like this, there aren't any. It's like Congress' recent move to mandate the use of compact fluorescent light bulbs without paying attention to the increased mercury pollution certain to be a result. It's a complex, interrelated world out there.

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