Wayne- Some variety of switchgrass, for example, is native to much of the lower 48 states. Some huge fraction of land (maybe 90%) enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program utilizes switchgrass (or some other grass with similar characteristics) to control erosion, improve water quality, and/or improve habitat on degraded land, land in close proximity to waterways, etc. And the net energy return for switchgrass ethanol is substantial: http://www.pnas.org/content/105/2/464.full When managed intensively for maximum annual yields it is unlikely these conservation benefits will be realized. However, switchgrass requires fewer chemical inputs and less tillage than conventional corn production. So inducing farmers to grow switchgrass instead of corn could, in theory, yield a net benefit for a given agro-ecosystem. In fact, the latest report from U.S. Department of Energy projects this very change in crop selection as a result of biofuel demand (see pages 137-140): http://www1.eere.energy.gov/biomass/pdfs/billion_ton_update.pdf. That same report also calculates the amount of corn stover that can be "sustainably" harvested. The production of algae for biodiesel using municipal wastewater is also being explored. There certainly are opportunities to provide net environmental benefits by way of biofuel production. -Phil
From: Wayne Tyson <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Monday, August 15, 2011 4:52 PM Subject: [ECOLOG-L] Ecosystems and Energy Biofuels Homage to Principle or Deceptive Fraud? Ecolog: Whilst "researching" something else, I came across this interesting item and website. I have not delved into the details, but couldn't help but stumble when I came to: "The challenge is to provide a methodology and relevant information for all Article 17(c) categories that an operator can follow to avoid these grassland areas." I am struck by the implicit presumption (perhaps well-calculated evidence exists, but I am ignorant of it) that ANY kind of "biofuel" production has any net positive effect upon any ecosystem, or, for that matter, that any such production even pencils out on the positive side of an net-energy calculation. I stand ready to be educated to the contrary. WT http://www.natureserve.org/publications/library.jsp#techrpts World Grasslands and Biodiversity Patterns 2010 The European Union Directive from 2008 on the promotion and use of energy from renewable resources referred to as "RED" states that biofuels and bioliquids cannot be produced from raw material obtained from land with high biodiversity value. These lands are defined to include, among other categories, "highly biodiverse grassland areas, including natural and non-natural grasslands." The challenge is to provide a methodology and relevant information for all Article 17(c) categories that an operator can follow to avoid these grassland areas. 29 OF PAGES, PDF file (422 KB); Details of source information, XLXS file (755 KB)
