Knock-on effect: An increase in U.S. production of ethanol, made of maize, led to a rise in the price of the crop, which in turn prompted a surge in the price of tortillas, a corn-based bread that is a staple among Mexicans.
Credit: AFP
STOCKHOLM: Biofuels, hailed by many as the green solution to offset a coming oil shortage and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, are not a cure-all solution, water experts have warned.
Biofuels, which are made from crops, require huge amounts of water, a resource that is already in short supply in many parts of the world, said experts at a water conference in Stockholm, Sweden this week. Bioenergy could thus end up diverting water resources desperately needed for food crops.
"When governments and companies are discussing biofuel solutions, I think water issues are not addressed enough," said Johan Kuylenstierna, director of the World Water Week conference. The annual gathering is being attended by some 2,500 water experts from around the world.
Zero-sum game
In the future "food production will need to increase, water consumption will increase dramatically in the agriculture sector and biofuels will increase. This doesn't add up for the water perspective," Kuylenstierna added.
"Where will the water to grow the food needed to feed a growing population come from if more and more water is diverted to crops for biofuels production?" asked Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) spokesman David Trouba.
According to SIWI, in 2050, the amount of additional water needed for bioenergy production could be equivalent to the amount required by the agricultural sector to feed the world properly.
"Biofuels are not 'the' solution, but one of the solutions," Kuylenstierna stressed.
Meanwhile Sunita Narain, the head of the Centre for Science and Environment in India and a prominent expert at the Stockholm conference, said biofuels were "good as an idea, bad in practice."
The main priority should not be how to develop biofuels, but rather how to put a halt to society's increasing fuel consumption, she insisted. Narain said it was "asinine" to believe that the world would be able to continue to consume as much biofuel in the future as it does fossil fuel today.
Economic impacts
"If you want to use water for it (biofuel production), you must cut down on the consumption of biofuels," she said, suggesting that ethanol be used for collective transport such as buses to reduce the number of cars on the road.
In addition to the water shortage issue, experts said they also feared that large-scale biofuel production would lead to a sharp rise in the price of food staples.
"Biofuel production could be a great competitor to food production. Global food prices could increase," Kuylenstierna said. That thought was echoed by Narain, who criticised price pressure on foodstuffs and cited the case of the recent "tortilla war" in the United States.
An increase in U.S. production of ethanol, made of maize, in early 2007 led to a rise in the price of the crop on the international market, which in turn prompted a surge in the price of tortillas, a corn-based bread that is a staple among Mexicans.
The U.S. is investing heavily in developing its ethanol production, which now accounts for five per cent of fuel volumes sold in the country. For 95 litres of pure ethanol, some 200 kg of maize are needed, or the equivalent of enough calories to feed a person for an entire year, SIWI noted.
Burning food for fuel
I never did think it was very clever, Burning food for fuel. Not being an engineer or scientist, I still find it difficult to believe that with all the mechanical energy on this planet. We have not developed a means to harness it efficiently. I am encouraged by the use of wind use of the wind and the sun. I would think there would be more effort in trying to harness the movement of the ocean currents. Or how about a portable, adjustable waterwheel generator. Something that you could set up easily and quickly, and also take down easily and quickly in case of rising floodwaters. Of course this would only work if you lived near flowing water. Or how about or how about a main waterpipe in-line wheel generator that is installed within a property's main waterline. Each time the water is turned on a toilet is flushed or any flow is created whatsoever, Electricity is also generated. If we found that the drag of the in-line wheel generators was so great that it caused a strain on municipal water pumping stations. We could install the in-line generators on the drain side of the water system. That way any time any water was used anywhere. It would also be generating electricity. What do you think about this idea?
The use of water for growing biofuel crops
Just look at how much water is being discharged into the sea on the Northern Coast and ask why this cannot be used for biofuel crops and also why it cannot be piped to areas where people are in desperate need of water.
You need commonsense to solve this problem and also the motivation to find solutions to people's needs.
Manfred Claasz in Heidelberg, Germany