Biofuel

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A while ago, I read that it took an amount of food equaling to 300 breads to provide enough biodiesel for one 60 liter (~12 gallon) fuel tank. Most of the fields used exclusively for bio fuel are located in the 3. world (ironically, some of them are located where there once were rainforests). Food prices all over Latin America have increased to satisfy our greed for "clean" alternatives to regular gasoline.

40.000 children starve to death every day in the 3. world--should we use food as fuel for our cars, when only 3% of the annual carbon dioxide exhaustion is created by humans?

I am against of using food as source of energy.

Some thoughts:

1) Most petroleum is a bio-fuel.
2) Biofuels can be produced from cellulose - which is normally considered a waste. Or from sugar, which people eat too much of anyway. It doesn't have to be corn.
3) You asked "should we use food as fuel for our cars, when only 3% of the annual carbon dioxide exhaustion is created by humans?" ... I have no idea what you meant. Is this discussion about food and economics, or about global warming? I don't think global warming really figures into it one way or the

The problem with biofuels, besides the obvious issue of food burning, is that the method of production involving cellulose is far more expensive; but if only the starch is used, then the ethanol takes more energy to make than burning it produces. Link to a supporting study here.

biofuel will worsen world starvation.

not to mention it's stupid and a waste because you're at a loss as far as energy put in vs energy taken out.

I'm all for biodiesel. There are many varieties.
I'm personally for reusing old vegetable oil.
What harm could that cause?

what's needed to make biodiesel?

is farmland absolutely necessary?

can old vegetable oil be used in place? (say like all the oil from frito-lay filtered then processed)

Yeah, cleaned vegetable oil from restaurant refuse works great when heated to 150 degrees fahrenheit. It runs right through your engine and is great for the environment. Though you may need to make a few expensive alterations to your cars motor...

In Holland fuel can be made from Algae grown in shallow surface waters. There are plans to use one of the largest polders (the Markerwaard of 700 square kilometers), which hasn't yet been made dry, for this purpose only. Its bio-diesel production will be enough for all the needed car fuel in the Netherlands. It is from 20 to a 100 times more efficient in producing energy than bio-diesel from land plants. Another advantage is that it can help clean sewage and the dried residue can be used as cattle fodder.

What tree hugger came up with this bright idea, and what moron politician agreed, Gee, let's turn our food crops into fuel, cleaner burning, less environmental impact, BS. The companies that lobby Washington, have pushed corn to be used for bio diesel, it takes more energy to produce the stuff, as it takes 1 liter of fossil fuel to produce 1.25 liters of bio fuel. If everyone wants to use biofuel, they should demand a better source, either switch grass or hemp, even wood waste can be used to produce the stuff, but no, its better to make our foodstuffs get depleted by using corn.

biodiesel doesn't really burn cleaner than regular diesel; it's advantage is that it can be produced without either drilling and the concurrent risk of oil spills, or the utilization of food crops than would otherwise enter the market for humans.

Making vehicle fuel out of crops in a world where people starve seems nuts to me, and the kind of solution that only occurs to people when its taken as read that its a vitally important and useful thing to keep everyone trundling around in private motor vehicles. Take measures to drastically reduce the number of cars, replacing them with public transport, walking, cycling and the whole fossil fuels or bio fuels dillemma seems less of a dillemma...