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BRATTLEBORO REFORMER
#46, February 24, 2008
A Vermont Response to Questions About
Biofuels
by
Netaka White
This
week’s guest columnist is Netaka White, executive director of Vermont Biofuels
Association and chair of Renewable Energy Vermont’s Biofuels
Working Group.
Last week, an
unsettling story ran in The
New York Times: "Biofuels Deemed a Greenhouse
Threat," highlighting the findings of two recent studies published
in the journal Science.
The story was quickly picked up by national media, raising concerns about
the consequences of growing crops as biofuel feedstocks, especially
corn-based ethanol and biodiesel from palm oil.
The articles
have generated questions, confusion, and apprehension. Is biofuels
production bad for the environment? Are all biofuels the same? Can we
create a truly sustainable biofuels industry – and, if so, what
does it look like? How should Vermont
biofuels producers respond?
The new
studies focus on the one true measure of sustainability, the net carbon
balance of various biofuels – that is, the CO2 reduction
or capture achieved compared with the emissions generated while growing
and processing a biofuel. Their findings underscore the need to take a
broad, comprehensive look at land-use practices around the world as
nations work to combat climate change and increase the use of alternative
fuels.
A coalition
of Vermont
organizations has been considering these issues for some time, especially
since the Science article was published. The verdict on biofuels? The
answer is that there are no easy answers, no one-size-fits-all solution.
An analysis of biofuel production must consider the subject in all its
complexity.
In January
2008, Renewable Energy Vermont (REV) convened the Biofuels Working Group,
a committee made up of agricultural and renewable energy business
leaders, biofuel producers, and commercial fuel users and dealers. The
group was formed to consolidate activity within Vermont’s
burgeoning renewable energy sector, with the goal of building demand and
capacity for locally-produced biodiesel and other agriculturally-derived
fuels, and providing a resource for a sustainable biofuel industry in Vermont.
Our consensus
is that for biodiesel and other biofuels to meet their potential, they
should be produced and used as close to the feedstock source as possible,
ideally with local ownership of production and distribution.
Since 2005,
several Vermont farms, with assistance from UVM Extension, Vermont
Sustainable Jobs Fund, UVM Center for Sustainable Agriculture, Vermont
Biofuels Association, Vermont Agency of Agriculture, and others, have
been working to produce vegetable oil and livestock feed from oilseed
crops such as soy, canola, and sunflower.
After more
than two years of on-farm research, we now have enough information to
project that over the next 10 years, using sustainable rotation practices
on just 16% of our cropland, Vermont could grow enough oilseeds to
replace all diesel used in our agriculture sector (6.4 million gallons
per year) and more than 50% of the imported protein livestock feed for
our dairies. This combination would produce measurable economic and environmental
benefits.
But
agricultural fuel constitutes only a small slice of Vermont’s total fuel needs, so
the biofuels community is also exploring ways to meet the larger fuel
demand with "next generation" fuel sources such as algae and
cellulosic ethanol. Among their advantages: They won’t compete with
high-value cropland for renewable energy production, and they yield much
more fuel per acre than corn, soy, or sunflower crops. While still
several years from commercialization, they’re our best hope for long-term
fuel sustainability and net carbon footprint reductions.
Compared to
petrodiesel, using biodiesel dramatically reduces tailpipe and stack
emissions of CO2. However, mounting evidence suggests that the
world's rush to find renewable fuel alternatives is having unintended
consequences – creating threats to the environment and global food
security that we must take seriously.
The Biofuels
Working Group also agrees that commercial corn-derived ethanol has no
place in Vermont agriculture, and that, nationally, it should serve only
as a stepping-stone to more sustainable, cellulosic fuel technology. Nor
is destroying rainforests or natural grasslands to produce biofuel
feedstocks an answer to our energy or environmental challenges.
Still, we
share the concern of many Vermonters that global fuel demand is outpacing
petroleum supply, leading to perpetually higher fuel costs, potential
supply disruptions, and geopolitical instability.
So, what is a practical strategy to
assure a sufficient fuel supply while using less energy, cutting
emissions, and reducing oil imports? Here are several first steps:
Increase sustainable production and use of domestic, local biodiesel and
straight vegetable oil. Support research and deployment of next
generation biofuels. Learn more about the negative impacts of palm oil
for biodiesel. Most important, increase fuel efficiency and conserve
energy wherever possible.
The REV
Biofuels Working Group and other members of the biofuels community are
committed to moving Vermont toward a renewable, sustainable, clean energy
future. Progress may be measured in small increments at times, but we
believe biodiesel and other biofuels, especially those produced and
consumed locally, can play an important role in lowering CO2
emissions, reducing our demand for foreign oil, and keeping our farmland
open, diverse, and productive.
###
For more
information on biofuels in Vermont, contact Netaka White at Netaka@REVermont.org.
Copyright
2007 by Daniel Hecht
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