…in the long term
They are really good only as a quick temporary fix, tape when what we really need is glue. When you do the math, there is simply not enough land (even counting all the forests we have yet to clear) to make this a viable alternative to fossil fuels.
It is also unlikely that we will reach a break even point any time soon in regards to the costs of production vs. those of global demand. This means that we can only produce bio-fuels using fossil fuels at the cost they are now. When the prices of oil and coal go up as they inevitably must, it may become impossible for the bio-fuel industry to avoid operating at a loss.
There are many negative environmental factors as well but these are all mostly under debate so I will leave those for a later date. Bio-fuels will be a useful tool for the transition from fossil fuels to something else but are not useful as they are not truly sustainable.
Filed under: Bio-Fuels | Tagged: alternative energy, Bio-Fuels |
GROG: green tech blog 
Here’s a video in which a college professor explains in more detail why biofuels are bad: http://essentialdissent.blogspot.com/search?q=biofuels
I used to feel very positive about next-gen biofuels (e.g. cellulosic ethanol, algae biodiesel). However, over the past year, I’ve become increasingly convinced that the future of transportation lies with electrification rather than improved liquid fuels.
That’s not to say that natural gas and next-gen biofuels can’t play a part, but the focus going into improving battery technology right now leads me to believe that this is ultimately where things are headed.
Thanks buddy. Great blog you got here. Got some more links to point to with more information?