Interconnectedness of Energy Solutions

"Demand for biologically based fuels has led to the growing of more corn in the United States, but that means fields were switched from soybeans to corn, explained Michael Coe of the Woods Hole Research Center.

"But there was no decline in the demand for soy, he said, meaning other countries, such as Brazil, increased their soy crops to make up for the deficit.

"In turn, Brazil created more soy fields by destroying tropical forests, which tend to soak up carbon dioxide. Instead the forests were burned, releasing the gasses into the air....

"'If we run our cars on biofuels produced in the tropics, chances will be good that we are effectively burning rainforests in our gas tanks,'" she said.

"However, there could be benefits from planting crops for biofuels on degraded land, such as fields that are not offering low productivity due to salinity, soil erosion or nutrient leaching.

"'In a sense that would be restoring land to a higher potential,'" she said. But there would be costs in fertilizer and improved farming practices.

"In some cases simply allowing the degraded land to return to forest might be the best answer, she said."

"Global Warming Increasing Faster Than Predicted"

~=~