Biofuels Contribute To Rise Global Food Rises

A review of the UK’s biofuels strategy has shown that the increased uptake of biofuels has contributed significantly to the rise in food prices around the world and has left more than 100 million people short of food. The report by a panel of government experts was chaired by Professor Ed Gallagher, the head of the Renewable Fuels Agency and is due to be published on Friday 27th June. The review was set-up by Ruth Kelly, the UK’s Transport Secretary in February 2008 out of concern about the rising cost of food products.

The report’s findings are not really a surprise, well not to anyone with common sense at least. What do politicians expect to happen when vast amounts of land normally used to grow food crops is diverted to growing crops for biofuels manufacture? In the USA, a third of all maize is now used for biofuels production and in the EU half of all vegetable oils are used for biofuels. This pattern is repeated in many other countries as poor farmers and large corporations alike work out that the profit to be made from crops for biofuels is far higher than for food crops. This has led to shortages and hence higher prices. While most of us in the West can afford to pay the higher prices, for people living in poverty already, this rise in prices is causing further unnecessary hardship.

Despite this obvious consequences of the rush to replace petroleum with biofuels, the UK government has already put in place a target of all petrol and diesel to contain 2.5% biofuels and is raising this to 5% by 2010. The EU is proposing a figure if 10% by 2010. The USA is also determined to expand the use of biofuels for oil security rather than climate change reasons and is pushing hard to maximise the domestic use of biofuels. Unless there is more research into the effects of increased biofuels uptake and a regulatory body to ensure growers, producers and suppliers of biofuels work in an ethical and sustainable way, we are going to do far more harm to our planet and our people. Already the growing food crisis is affecting many hundreds of millions of people, the social and environmental damage may not be obvious to us in the West, but to many displaced farmers and peasants the suffering has already began.


[via The Guardian]

Go ‘green’ in a Hummer

I know it sounds like a contradiction in terms, but yes, you really can go green in a big ol’ Hummer! Who says saving the planet means driving a small eco-car? Certainly not SAE Energy of Wichita, Kansas. SAE Energy are headed by Johnathan Goodwin and Larry Urry, who together founded the company to convert ordinary diesel and petrol cars to use alternative fuels and run more efficiently to reduce harmful emissions, oh and increase horsepower too.

What sets these guys apart is the fact that they take big traditional American fuel guzzling cars like the ubiquitous Hummer and other 4x4’s and convert them to run on various combinations of alternative fuels mixed with petrol or diesel using software and systems they perfected themselves. They use mostly standard factory produced parts and combine them with their clever in-house technology. Their incredibly innovative approach is getting them noticed, with an upcoming series on the Discovery Channel and a project for California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, their star is definitely on the rise.

Talking of Hummers, they are working on a 2005 H3 Hummer that will be dual-engined. One engine will be electric, the other will act as a turbine. Now here’s the clever bit, when the batteries are running low, the turbine will kick-in for a few minutes and recharge the batteries. The turbine will run on biodiesel, so the emissions are lower. In total, this particular Hummer will have twice the horsepower and yet it will get 60 miles to the gallon. Can you imagine, a 5,000 pound Hummer with 600 horsepower going from 0-60 in around 5 seconds? Hope the brakes are good! For us mere mortals, SAE Energy have developed a $5,000 add-on kit that can convert any diesel powered car to use 50% less fuel and produce 80% less emissions. – FastCompany.com

I find it pretty amazing that these two guys working with limited finances and facilities are doing something the major US car manufacturers with all the money, staff and resources available to them have so spectacularly failed to do. SAE Energy has shown it is possible to make big powerful cars that are fuel-efficient and less polluting, so why aren’t the car makers doing it? I suppose it comes down to consumer demand, if consumers want greener cars and are prepared to put their money where their ethics are, then manufacturers will have no choice but to meet this demand.