I have thought recently about this, and without having read that paper, I might throw out that supporting ethanol fuel production could have the secondary (mostly) beneficial effect of keeping some land in agriculture that might otherwise be under development pressure.
DeSolla,Shane [Burlington] wrote: >I am pretty sure that this has already been posted on ECOLOG, but since >the topic has come up again... > >A study by Patzek (2004) found that the use of ethanol (obtained from >growing corn) ultimately consumes more fossil fuels than it saves. He >advocates that the US dramatically reduce its corn production, and >reduce its use of ethanol from corn. Not all biofuel comes from corn, >but I suspect that the vast majority of it does. > >This is not the only study that came to this conclusion, but is among >the most recent. It is a long read, but is in depth. Of course that does >not make it right, but his argument is not trivial. > >Tad W Patzek. 2004. Thermodynamics of the Corn-Ethanol Biofuel Cycle. >Critical Reviews in Plant Sciences. 23(6):519-567. > >Cheers, >Shane > >Opinions expressed are those of the author and do not represent those of >his employer. > > -- *********************************** Don Cipollini, Ph.D. Associate Professor-Plant Physiology/Chemical Ecology Associate Director Environmental Sciences PhD Program Department of Biological Sciences Wright State University 3640 Colonel Glenn Highway Dayton, Ohio 45435-0001 (937) 775-3805 FAX (937) 775-3320 email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Lab Page: http://www.wright.edu/~don.cipollini
