As the United States and other nations commit to the path of biofuels production, a group of scientists are calling for sustainable practices in an industry that will "reshape the Earth's landscape in a significant way."
In a paper published in the Oct. 3 issue of Science magazine, 23 scientists call for science-based policy in the emerging globa lbiofuels industry, which by 2050 could command as much land as is currently farmed for food.
"The identification of unintended consequences early in the development of alternative fuel strategies will help to avoid costly mistakes and regrets about the effects on the environment," the authors write.
The authors are environmental scientists, agronomists, and economists from numerous organizations in U.S. and Brazil.
The biofuels industry in U.S. has significant momentum, but no environmental performance standards are currently in place. In May, the 2008 Farm Bill was passed, which provides subsidies for growers of biofuels crops and for refiners who convert those crops to ethanol. Also, the U.S. Legislature approved a mandate in 2007 for the production of 16 billion gallons of cellulosic ethanol peryear by 2022.
"We have a lot of information that can help policy makers think through the long-term consequences of this kind of mandate," said Jerry Mellilo, one of the authors. "We can help society avoid or at least reduce some of the negative consequences of the expansion of biofuels programs in U.S and around the world. Science can helpall of us use renewable resources, such as biofuels, in a sustainable way."
All the tradeoffs between alternative biofuels strategies need to be carefully considered, the authors write.
One motive for biofuels production is to increase domestic energy security by reducing reliance on imported oil.
In addition, introducing biofuels into the nation's energy portfolio promises to reduce the amount of CO2 and greenhouse gases going into the atmosphere by fossil-fuel burning.
But this, too, must be carefully thought through by the use of scientific analyses, Melillo says. In some parts of the world, the decision is being made to burn forests to clear land for biofuels crops, which releases a large amount of CO2 into the atmosphere just to set the cropland up.
"Sustainable biofuel production systems could play a highly positive role in mitigating climate change, enhancing environmental quality, and strengthening the global economy," the authors conclude, "but it will take sound, science-based policy and additional research effort to make this so."
Source:Xinhua
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