The Right Bio Fuel

Good OpEd from the NY Times Bring on the Right Biofuels by Roger Cohen


Key Points:

• Rising food prices are due to more than bio fuels. Reasons include:
• Oil Prices (used to make fertilizer and pesticides, fuel for tractors)
• US dollar crash
• Drought in Australia (not mentioned, but also a cause)
• Hoarding in some countries (not mentioned, but also a cause)
• Rising demand for meat because more people are no longer in poverty (meat requires a lot of grains to create, so rising demand for grains causing higher prices)
• Many more cars will be in China and India. One lecture I heard said a billion. The right Bio Fuel is the only possible answer for the next 15-20 years for fueling them.
• Sugar cane produces x 8 the fuel compared to corn, but there is a tarrif not allowing in ethanol from Brazil (54 cents per Gallon).
  
• Europe will require by 2020 that 10% of all fuel be bio fuel.