http://www.torontosun.com/News/Canada/2008/07/10/6118486.html
As we all know, going green is the big thing in Ontario right now. Harper has passed a law that states that all fuel must contain five per cent biofuel, such as ethanol and biodiesel, by 2010.
For those of you who don’t quite understand what biofuel is, it is very similar to petroleum so it can very well be used in diesel engines without being too expensive. Since oil is scarce, researchers have been looking at biofuel and have realized that it could be used as gas in our cars and can help to slow down global warming.
Biofuel comes from food such as corn, wheat and straw and there are many environmental advantages from using biofuel as a substitute. It is renewable, domestic, clean, reduces emissions into the environment and biodegradable. It all sounds great, right? The main question, however, is who is benefiting from this newly implemented law?
As I stated before, biofuels come from various food crops, but a lot of our crops come from developing nations. Developing countries have lower costs and apparently, their biofuels have a higher energy content than those produced in places like Canada and the US.
Don’t you think that our reliance on developing countries biofuel is disadvantaging them to a great extent? Countries like Canada and the US have the money to get crops from developing nations at a low cost and are charging their consumers a ridiculous amount. I’m sure you’re all aware that food prices are going up…the introduction of biofuels could be a reason why.
We’re taking food from the developing nations, and this has caused many riots in Haiti, for example. I heard on the news that they were going crazy because they have no food at their disposal because people from the Western world are pretty much stealing it from them!
Harper is using his power to make Canada a better place, but in doing so, he is making developing countries worse off.
What do you guys think about biofuels? Good or bad?
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Apparently bio fuels are not as energy efficient as many think. It takes the same amount of energy to make as it produces. Plus, traditional pipelines can't be used because bio fuels is made up of ethanol. This requires trucks and railcars to transport them, contributing to more energy consumption and co2 emission. The creation of bio fuels is not energy efficient at all.
Bio fuel is also said to contribute to global warming and deforestation. Which is just more damage to our environment. Bio fuels is even linked to driving up food prices.
I think bio fuel is bad, but boycotting it would be so unrealistic. We need another source of fossil fuel, one that can actually be beneficial to our environment. It seems as if bio fuels is solving problems but also creating some more. Perhaps, more clean air initiatives need to be put forth instead.
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