Water worries cloud future for biofuels

Samuel Dalzell
Monday, April 13, 2009
5:31 PM
Energy/Alternative Energy

In the agricultural midwestern United States, the debate over biofuels is heating up. Backed by recent federal mandates calling for increased corn ethanol production, large quantities of corn crop yields are being sent to ethanol plants to be turned into biofuels. With recent drought conditions in much of the areas where the materials needed for ethanol are produced, the divide between biofuel supporters and detractors is growing ever wider. Critics argue that precious resources are being wasted on ethanol when water shortages are getting worse. Supporters of corn ethanol are saying that creating alternative energy is worth the investment---the water used is not a waste, as it is putting us on track for better security, environment, and economy. Concerns have also been raised about whether ethanol production is even making any improvements for the environment given the tremendous amount of energy that has to go into producing it. There is also concern that increasing the use of corn and other foodstocks for fuel production will create a spike in food and animal feedstock prices. Given the massive amount of water needed for growing corn and creating ethanol, there are also fears of the possibility of a serious water crisis in areas like greater Chicago, western Iowa and Nebraska, and generally west of the Missouri River. And with a projected increase in water consumption worldwide concordant with a rapidly increasing population, anxiety over this issue is only getting worse.
This is certainly a major roadblock on the path to energy indepedence and sustainable energy. In this case, the cure could be said to be worse than the disease. My view concerning biofuels may, in fact, be changing; while I still support them insofar as they are clean burning and much safer for the environment than traditionally used fossil fuels, however, it is important to note the causal relationship between biofuel production and other other areas it may negatively impact. Certainly, nobody wishes to see a major water crisis or an even worse food crisis than we're already dealing with. I believe that the government needs to stop demanding an increase in biofuel production and focus their energy on something else; unfortunately, biofuels are not the answer we're looking for.

http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSTRE53D00A20090414