How Green is Biodiesel & Ethanol Derived from GE Crops?

[nosmokes]

original

How Green is Biodiesel & Ethanol Derived from Energy Intensive Genetically Engineered Crops?Biotechnology: Still Fueling Controversy
By Charles Shaw
AlterNet, April 21, 2006
http://www.alternet.org/story/35243/
It should have been one of the more earth-shattering admissions of the last hundred years when George W. Bush -- the former Texas oilman who steadfastly denies that oil ever played a part in our decision to invade Iraq -- announced that America was in fact "addicted to oil."
Instead, America's response was more akin to hearing one's 55-year-old effeminate bachelor uncle come out of the closet to the family at a holiday dinner: Everyone knew it already, but no one ever expected him to say it.
However, the evidence is indeed staggering. The United States of America uses more than a quarter of the world's annual oil production; the current administration is comprised of oil executives; our foreign policy apparatus consists of a reckless form of petro-diplomacy that requires us to prop up brutal regimes or overthrow unfriendly governments.
The situation has made our economic well-being so dependent on oil that even the slightest interruption to the oil supply has far-reaching ramifications, as we saw first with the removal of Iraqi oil from the world market, and then the refinery catastrophe in the wake of hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
And it seems to be getting worse. Oil refineries are producing at full capacity, supply has either peaked or is rapidly approaching the peak, even as demand is projected to grow 50 percent by 2025, spurred by the massive economic growth of China, India and Brazil.
As a result of all these factors, oil prices have increased more than 500 percent from the 1998 price of $13 a barrel. And when we consider the very real possibility of another mega-hurricane season, or a terrorist attack on the Saudi refining operation, even an oil-addicted president realizes that we need to make serious changes -- and fast -- or else we may not be around to pick up the pieces.
Enter BIO 2006, the annual convention of the Biotechnology Industry Organization, held last week in Chicago. Nearly 20,000 attendees converged on the city to hawk new technologies, hook up with investment opportunities, or pitch their city or state as the perfect destination for the burgeoning biotech and life-science sector, which, according to the Department of Commerce, will comprise 18 percent of the U.S. GDP by 2020, or nearly 3 trillion dollars.
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complete article here
edited to add reference link-
see related post
GE Crops for Energy Crops a Very Bad Idea

[glitch]

1. Not green and not necessary. Biofuels don't have to be centrally produced

by mega corporations with horrific records. They can be produced locally using (currently described as) waste products in a mix of alternatives.

The mega-corps with their inefficiencies jumping on this bandwagon and influencing the ignorant makes me sick.
But of course that is what they will do, it's all they know.

[madrchsod]

2. ouch !!hurt my eyes-i didn`t need my glasses to read this....

a good point. since i live surrounded by corn fields i was thinking the same things about corn or bean based fuels. high oil producing corn is used for fuel-will monsanto decide to gm seeds then when they cross with other seeds? thus giving monsanto the right to sue farmers? what about small corn seed developers out here who may come up with gm corn seed and monsanto decides to sue them out of existence? will we be replacing big oil with big seed companies that will dictate the price of seed and profit? i see alot of issues in the future on who is going to control the seeds and patents on seed modification.