Mrrrr,
I’ve got questions about biofuels, do you? I know that most of you, when you’re driving and you see the name DIESEL posted in big letters, you think about me. But shockingly, some people actually think about fuel. For the latter group, when they meet me or see my blog, my name raises questions about my relationship to and my thoughts on diesel fuel.
Diesel, like any fuel, can be made from a variety of sources. The world’s first diesel engine ran on peanut oil. All you need is a plant with an oil-based seed (algae works too). That would include many of our native plants here in the prairie region. A recent NSF funded study from the U of Minnesota shows that mixed prairie grasses produce more biomass in a way that is more environmentally sound than corn or soybeans. That seems a no-brainer to me; I’ve always gotten charged up by a nice stand of mixed prairie grasses, especially when there’s Switchgrass involved.
In several places, biofuels are becoming more common, and not at the slow pace evident in the U.S. It’s pretty amazing that in Brazil, 1 million cars were running on diesel fuel made from sugar cane last year. Many others are “flex fuel cars” that can take bio-ethanol or regular gasoline or a combination of the two. The FAO predicts that in the next 15 to 20 years, biofuels will be providing a full 25% of the world’s energy needs.
But me and my cat pals we still have questions.
Is there enough room to grow all these biofuel sources – palm oil, rapeseed or canola, sugar cane, grasses, corn, and more? Don’t get me wrong, this sounds better than more oil drilling in Alaska or the Gulf of Mexico, mountain top coal mining, and those natural gas fields slowly choking antelope migration pathways out west. But even though I’m told biodiesel can be made by almost anyone, production will not likely remain local but will be industrialized.
I wonder what kind of stress growing lots of biofuel crops will put on land and space? What about water resources – will you build more dams, irrigate more land? What about pesticide use? Will it increase? What happens when residue from a pesticide used to grow a crop is burned as fuel? I guess it depends on the pesticide. Already big companies are paying money to big universities and others to research bioengineering crops for fuel. What does that mean? It is too much for a young cat to get his brain around. And then I have to worry about having my name on the product…
Biofuel sounds like a great idea and one that humans have a good start on, but, again, we cats have questions. Market economics and innovation aside – is there some comprehensive planning going on? Does Al Gore have a handle on this? Al??? (As an aside, this cat has a great deal of respect for Al, and, I think we look a bit alike. I mean, I wouldn’t mind taking a walk though a prairie on the man’s shoulders while discussing the environment.)
On the one paw: multiple competing crop options, genetic engineering of plants for biofuel, conversion of lands for biofuel, manipulation of water, pesticide use; on another paw: less oil drilling and petroleum burning; on a third paw: wind energy, solar energy alternatives, phase out of incandescent bulbs, geo-thermal, and hybrid engines. Will you humans balance these options and adapt how they get used? Will you keep an eye on the downsides to the elements of the cure?
And, in the end (the fourth paw), isn’t the cure just using less…fuel, electricity, plastic, cotton, water, paper…?
In the meantime, cats across the world have been there at your side for centuries, adding a little body heat, helping to keep you humans warm. Here at home, bio-Diesel takes on a whole new meaning.
Please share your thoughts if you’d like. There’s a little comment button just below each blog. Or just check out some of the links in my ‘Places to go' bar at the right.
