A few days ago, I mentioned recent studies that illustrate the inefficiencies of ethanol in curbing planet-warming emissions. Matthew Cordell makes some good additional points on biofuels over on UN Dispatch that should be highlighted; specifically, the need to look at the long-term prospects for renewable energy. Most of the reports on the studies focused on the shortcomings of biofuels as most of us know them today, but didn't include any analysis of other possibilities. And there are plenty of possibilities for biofuels other than corn – grass trimmings, animal fat, compost, used paper, algae, and sawdust are just a few sources from which biofuels can be derived, none of which require the massive amounts of land that corn-based biofuels necessitate. As Cordell notes, we haven't invested much funding or effort into research into other possibilities for biofuels -- largely because the corn lobby has dominated the conversation thus far. And we haven't even been particularly conscientious in our use of land for corn, another area where we could improve. So the appropriate response in light of these new studies on ethanol is not to abandon biofuels altogether, but to invests in research to move toward better policy and sources other than corn.
--Kate Sheppard
