In efforts to curb our use of greenhouse gas-generating fossil fuels, plant-based biofuels are among the top contenders as alternative liquid energy sources for transportation.
“It is difficult to make a biofuel that actually has environmental benefits,” says coauthor David Tilman, a professor of ecology in the Bren School of Environmental Science & Management at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
“When a food crop is used to make a biofuel, this, in essence, takes food away from poor people around the world, and, it turns out, offers little, if any, greenhouse gas reductions.”
Whereas conventional production of biofuels has largely used food crops such as corn, soybeans, oil palm, and sugarcane, these practices have their pitfalls, such as intensive use of nitrogen fertilizers, and competition for fertile croplands that had been growing food.
“Nitrogen fertilizer is a two-edged sword,” Tilman says. “It gives us higher yields, but it also releases lots of greenhouse gas and can pollute our well waters and rivers, lakes, and oceans.” In their 10-year experiment, the researchers explored alternative ways to generate biomass, but with fewer environmental and economic side effects.
Name of Author: Sonia Fernandez