My turn for a little drama - "The Coming Biofuels Disaster"

[kristopher]

The Coming Biofuels Disaster
by Joe Brewer
Last modified Wednesday, June 27, 2007 12:00 AM

Hear an interview (MP3) with Joe Brewer about this article conducted for KPFA (Pacifica) radio's The Morning Show.

Share your comments about this article on the Rockridge Nation Blog.

Have you ever tried to solve a problem only to discover that you made things worse in the process? This is happening right now with biofuels. We are on the road to disaster because the problem we are trying to solve has been framed inadequately. Harmful impacts from large-scale biofuel production are largely overlooked. And we aren't even addressing the right problem! The truth can be seen when we frame issues in the context of livability.

Solving the Wrong Problem

Policy makers have been grappling with the fact that an excessive amount of carbon dioxide is polluting our atmosphere, disrupting global weather patterns and shifting the world's climate beyond safe boundaries. The solution required by this problem is that we stop increasing greenhouse pollution levels. This can be accomplished by shifting our energy sector in a direction that ultimately reduces the amount of heat-trapping gases that have accumulated since the dawn of the industrial revolution.

On the surface, biofuels present the ideal solution to this problem. We can grow them in large amounts and the carbon that is released by burning them is equal to the amount they breathe in as they grow. This simple mental accounting is very appealing, but woefully inaccurate for describing what is really going on.

The real problem is that the way we use energy is out of balance with natural processes, driving us away from the equilibrium necessary for our communities to survive. This is evident in the planet's atmosphere...


http://www.rockridgeinstitute.org/research/rockridge/coming-biofuels-disaster

[wtmusic]

1. Whoa...Rockridge closed its doors just days ago

"The Rockridge Institute announced its closure in April, 2008, citing difficulty to nourish and ingrain progressive ideas in the United States."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockridge_Institute

I bet there's a good backstory to that one.

[losthills]

2. Cue John Waxy/Fledermouse in 5...4...3...2.....

[kristopher]

3. I think it is a case of competing perspectives

As a policy analyst I find a lot of problems with some of the things Lakoff says. When you have expertise in one or more of the fields he brings into his narrative, it is difficult to remember that he is advocating way to reach broad masses. He isn't laying out policy positions based on the most logical and coherent arguments available; so the tendency is to pick at what he has to say, instead of trying to see the broader point of his argument. Once I get past the impulse to criticize, however, his message and method rings true.

That was my reaction, anyway.