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1. Biofuelstatements

Biofuels are considered carbon neutral as the carbon released during combustion is offset by the carbon absorbed during growth. However, the demand for biofuels has led to deforestation, food shortages, and increased prices for staple crops, negatively impacting poorer countries. While biofuels can provide renewable energy and are seen as less damaging to the environment, their production can also contribute to greenhouse gas emissions and habitat destruction.

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10 views

1. Biofuelstatements

Biofuels are considered carbon neutral as the carbon released during combustion is offset by the carbon absorbed during growth. However, the demand for biofuels has led to deforestation, food shortages, and increased prices for staple crops, negatively impacting poorer countries. While biofuels can provide renewable energy and are seen as less damaging to the environment, their production can also contribute to greenhouse gas emissions and habitat destruction.

Uploaded by

arjunjainbrar
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Biofuel statements

Read the statements below.


Sort them into positive statements and negative statements.
Choose the 3 best positive and 3 best negative statements
to add to your notes in your book.
Some statements may be described as neutral.

Biofuels are in theory carbon neutral because when burnt as fuel, the carbon they release has been offset by the
amount of carbon dioxide they absorbed whilst growing in the fields.

As demand for biofuels increases, many developing countries are clearing forests and draining marshes to make
more space to grow these biofuel crops. Vast amounts of greenhouse gases are released by clearing the land. This
clearing also has a major impact on the conservation of plants and animals living in these areas – wildlife lose their
habitat.

Food shortages are on the increase in poorer countries, as farmland traditionally used for food and animal feed has
been changed over to grow industrial crops suitable for biofuels.

The increase in demand for crops such as rice, corn or soybeans, which can be used as both food and biofuels, has
forced the price up so many poor people cannot afford the higher prices of these foods. In Mexico last year there
were riots after the price of maize (their main food) quadrupled, pushed up by the demand for biofuels.

The best biofuels, such as ethanol produced from sugar cane in Brazil, can deliver 10 times more energy than that
required to produce them, and release a quarter of the greenhouse gases compared to oil.

Indonesia plans 20 million hectares of new oil palm plantations to meet world biodiesel demand.

Oil palms produce a greater yield per hectare than any other edible oil - up to ten times that of soybean oil.

Some biofuels such as those produced from palm oil in Indonesia, are often given as an example of 'bad' biofuel since
they don’t give as much energy and when land is cleared they cause much destruction of the environment.

Most current biofuels come from agricultural crops. Different countries specialise in different types of biofuel, according
to their climate. In Europe it's rapeseed oil and sugar beet, in the USA it’s sweetcorn and soybeans. Sugar cane
tends to be grown in Brazil and a huge amount of palm oil comes from south-east Asia.

Scientists are now investigating second generation biofuels - where a much wider range of substances, including
manure, food waste, wood, straw and sewage, are broken down to create biofuels but experts say it will be 5-10
years before they will be commercially available. Scientists are also having some success with using algae, seaweed
and jatropha (a bush found in dry areas of the Americas, Africa and Asia).

Governments and the fuel companies have been looking for alternatives to oil because:
o Burning fossil fuels is causing climate change
o The price of oil has been rising steeply (although it has recently fallen again)
o Some parts of the world that supply oil are dangerous (wars, natural disasters)
o There is a finite supply of fossil fuels in the world and we know that they are running out!

At the moment, small amounts of biofuels can be easily used within existing car and lorry engines by mixing them with
normal petrol and diesel (about 10-15% biofuel).

Only a small number of countries produce fossil fuels (crude oil, natural gas) but biofuels can be grown in any
country so no-one can control the supply.

The plants used to make biofuels are renewable (as fresh supplies can be grown as needed) so in theory there is an
unlimited amount and a secure supply.

The countries in the European Union (EU) believe that biofuels are less damaging to the environment and have set a
target that 10% of transport fuel will be biofuel by 2020.
When forests are cleared to make way for growing biofuels, much vegetation is burnt and the
gases from the smoke add to the problem of global warming.

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