Biofuel - Revision history

Elie: added 2 more TODOs

2025-02-15T07:11:52Z

added 2 more TODOs

← Older revision		Revision as of 03:11, 15 February 2025
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	While the average person eats approximately 2,500 Calories/day, the average fossil fuel consumption is equivalent to 40,000 Calories/day per capita globally.		While the average person eats approximately 2,500 Calories/day, the average fossil fuel consumption is equivalent to 40,000 Calories/day per capita globally.
	{{talk\|TODO: i gotta explain where i calculated this from}}		{{talk\|TODO: i gotta explain where i calculated this from}}
	It's simply no comparison - and it's unrealistic to expect the food supply to keep up with the demand for fuel. {{talk\|Related discussion: [[How much land would it take to replace all fossil fuels with biomass?]] (assuming we use both the edible crop and the [[crop residue]])}}		It's simply no comparison - and it's unrealistic to expect the food supply to keep up with the demand for fuel. {{talk\|Related discussion: [[How much land would it take to replace all fossil fuels with biomass?]] (assuming we use both the edible crop and the [[crop residue]]){{pbr}}TODO: Also explain the ''marginal utility'' principle - how the environmental costs outweigh the benefits for ''any'' amount of biofuel usage, large or small.{{pbr}}TODO: Also add info about the overall carbon footprint per unit of biofuel energy{{x\|i.e. from fossil fuels involved in biofuel production, plus also from deforestation (averaged somehow, using whichever methodology{{x\|and ideally, the reader should be able to see what methodology was used}} }}, compared to fossil fuels.}}

	''For better ways that fossil fuels could be phased out, see'': [[Decarbonize the energy supply]]		''For better ways that fossil fuels could be phased out, see'': [[Decarbonize the energy supply]]

Elie: Migrated to template:preamble

2024-11-07T01:34:34Z

Migrated to template:preamble

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:34, 6 November 2024
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	==Why it's a terrible idea==		==Why it's a terrible idea==
	~~<div style="margin-left:2em;font-size:70%;color:#777;line-height:1.1em">~~Superficially, biofuels seem like a good idea because food is technically renewable while fossil fuels are not. But in reality, using biofuels would be even worse for the planet than using fossil fuels:~~</div><!-- TALK: turn this into a [[Template:Heading intro]] or something? -->~~		{{preamble\|Superficially, biofuels seem like a good idea because food is technically renewable while fossil fuels are not. But in reality, using biofuels would be even worse for the planet than using fossil fuels''':'''}}

	===Promotes [[global hunger]]===		===Promotes [[global hunger]]===

Elie: Created page with "Biofuels are part of the global food inefficiency problem. And this diagram is just the status quo. If biofuels were scaled up more (i.e. enough to have any noticeable impact on replacing fossil fuels), the results would be disastrous. Category:Energy sources Category:Bad ideas '''Biofuel''' is fuel that's made from food{{x|or in some cases, non-food crops that were grown specifically to make fuel}}. * For example, corn grai..."

2024-10-31T16:12:24Z

Created page with "thumb|Biofuels are part of the global food inefficiency problem. And this diagram is just the status quo. If biofuels were scaled up more (i.e. enough to have any noticeable impact on replacing fossil fuels), the results would be disastrous. Category:Energy sources Category:Bad ideas '''Biofuel''' is fuel that's made from food{{x|or in some cases, non-food crops that were grown specifically to make fuel}}. * <small>For example, corn grai..."

New page

[[File:food-funnel.png|thumb|Biofuels are part of the global food inefficiency problem. And this diagram is just the status quo. If biofuels were scaled up more (i.e. enough to have any noticeable impact on replacing fossil fuels), the results would be disastrous.]]
[[Category:Energy sources]]
[[Category:Bad ideas]]
'''Biofuel''' is fuel that's made from food{{x|or in some cases, non-food crops that were grown specifically to make fuel}}.

* <small>For example, corn grain can be fermented to make ethanol (alcohol) which can be used as a replacement for gasoline in cars.</small>

==Why it's a terrible idea==
<div style="margin-left:2em;font-size:70%;color:#777;line-height:1.1em">Superficially, biofuels seem like a good idea because food is technically renewable while fossil fuels are not. But in reality, using biofuels would be even worse for the planet than using fossil fuels:</div>

===Promotes [[global hunger]]===

When food is turned into fuel, it affects the global food supply, leaving less food available for people to eat. Economically this manifests as higher food prices; the poorest of the poor are the first to suffer from this.

* <small>Also note: Even when ''non-food'' crops are grown for fuel, it ''still'' has the same effect, because the crop land could have been used to grow food crops instead.</small>

===Promotes [[deforestation]]===

The more biofuels are used, the more agricultural land is needed.{{p|Or in more precise terms: If the ''rate'' of production of biofuels were to increase globally, then (controlling for other factors{{x|other factors such as food waste, dietary choices and crop yields. And even if any of those were to tip towards efficiency, it would still probably be better to ''not'' use biofuels, and to rewild more farmland instead.{{talk|maybe make a page to discuss this conjecture}} }}), the demand for agricultural land would increase.}} Globally, agriculture [[Global land usage - status quo|already uses more land]] than all other land usage combined. To increase it even further would require [[habitat loss|destroying ecosystems]].

===Could not even come close to producing enough energy===

While the average person eats approximately 2,500 Calories/day, the average fossil fuel consumption is equivalent to 40,000 Calories/day per capita globally.
{{talk|TODO: i gotta explain where i calculated this from}}
It's simply no comparison - and it's unrealistic to expect the food supply to keep up with the demand for fuel. {{talk|Related discussion: [[How much land would it take to replace all fossil fuels with biomass?]] (assuming we use both the edible crop and the [[crop residue]])}}

''For better ways that fossil fuels could be phased out, see'': [[Decarbonize the energy supply]]

==See also==
* '''[[Biomass waste]]''' - fuel made from ''by-products'' instead
* [[Reduce the amount of land required to feed the world]]