The EU and U.S. pressure to grow biofuel use will slow
and quiet euthanasia of the poor, says Brazil's Landless Movement LAURA POY, U. MATILDE PEREZ, ANGELICA ENCISO
A truck is loaded with corn flour in the ethanol plant in the U.S. Photo: Ap
During the early years of this century, marked by drastic changes and large divisions, including climate, agriculture back onto the world because now the main generator of the so-called "green fuels"-produced organic inputs such as maize and sugarcane, among others, the which are not replacements for fossil but it will help to expand the profits of the biotechnology industry and to recycle the oil and automobile companies.
In the rush to sell to humanity as the "solution to global climate warming, these companies and governments of developed countries seek to increase the acreage of grain and oilseeds I look forward to the transgene product is best suited to that purpose. The EU intends to replace at short notice as much as 13 percent of fuel oil from bioethanol and biodiesel, knowing that their land could only get 30 percent of the required consumption, while the U.S. is on the run to stop dependent on black gold, but knows his acreage of corn would be insufficient to meet current demand. In Mexico it is estimated that could use 16 million acres for biofuel and increase by 800 thousand hectares of sugarcane area in the next five years, while remains controversy in the case of the use of corn for "feed" the car. Food safety
is a global discussion, stressed the Organization of the United Nations Food and Agriculture (FAO), for "ensuring sustainability of bioenergy systems requires a flexible framework of implementing not limited by national borders or by the narrow interests, the systems require land, water and labor. " Therefore, the body and promotes among Governments International Bioenergy Platform, which raises the need for a global multi-disciplinary approach and argues that the introduction of "energy crops friendly" in agriculture will diversify and expand their rotation, generate investment, trade and employment opportunities. Plans to boost this proposal for six years in three stages biennial, the first has already allocated $ 8.9 million.
However, Alexander Müller, Head of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Protection of the FAO, said that although governments may use the industry for rural development must also undertake not to harm the food security and ensure the use of natural resources sustainably. Gustavo Best, vice president of the UN Energy and field coordinator in FAO, in an interview with BBC News said the "potential of bioenergy is enormous, but those policies should consider plotted positive and negative impacts and ensure sustainability before embarking on a biofuels program ".
and also rising voices warning about the rise of global trade in agrofuels. Joao Pedro Stedile, leader of the Landless Movement, said it will be the "slow and quiet euthanasia of the poor and give free rein to environmental destruction on a scale never before known in the world" Elizabeth Bravo, organization Ecuadorian Ecology Action and author of books on the debate on biofuels, affirmed that only help to expand the profits of the biotech industry, to recycle the oil companies and automakers. In Latin America, Asia and Africa will be used with agricultural land or natural ecosystems for the production of crops for biofuels, stressing the problems created by monoculture, and will not be solved thoroughly ecological and social conflicts. Mexican scientists
experts in environment, agro-biology and climate change stated that there is no assurance that the use of ethanol is one of the most successful responses to environmental problems and power generation, because the decisions made by political pressure or economic interest in any other part of the world can not be applied de facto, as the climate and ecosystems do not function by decree.
noted that it is "essential to set limits" in the role it can play in reducing consumption of gasoline and diesel, since the best is not expected to exceed 15 per cent in the long term, since only is a factor of "transition" to search for more sustainable energy sources. Food
car
Pasquel
Mario Molina, Nobel Laureate in Chemistry 1995, clarified that the use of ethanol as an oxygenate in gasoline to replace the cancer-MBTE-was done to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from old cars, with the idea that it was very beneficial to the environment, which is why the United States put the gasoline oxygenate requirement, but with modern engines is no longer necessary.
In Mexico, he said, the standard for the use of oxygenates in gasoline is now historic, not necessarily. He explained that ethanol from corn is a renewable energy, as for planting and growing need to use fossil fuels and the benefit is marginal. In the United States that production is driven by subsidies for cultivation of the grass, but in the case of Mexico there is the same situation, "simply would compete with the generation of food, when there are still many people who need access to grain feeding would be cars. It is a proposal from the point of view and social environment is not acceptable. "
Pasquel Molina said that in the case of Brazil, with over 20 years of experience in the production of ethanol from sugarcane, despite having one of the process "more efficient, the environmental benefit is not huge, or not so much as thought, but it is certainly better than the results with corn. However, recent studies in which even can not establish the net benefit because not only are emissions of carbon dioxide, but nitrous oxide, considered a very potent greenhouse gas, even 300 times more than carbon dioxide, generated by using fertilizer. " The application of this technology in Mexico as an alternative to using fossil fuels must be a strategy, "because we do not produce the same amount of cane sugar Brazil. Here is a more expensive input, with social problems in production and an industry has not invested. "In the case of maize, found," can not take that direction by a financial bubble in California alone because you want to remove the subsidy to grain. It would be wrong to have a high cost of corn alcohol artificial situation that has nothing to do with real economic value. "
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