Fuelling the biofuels debate

I was at a conference a couple of weeks ago, where the initial session was given over to some highly experienced pundits giving their views on the way the biofuels market could develop. Without exception they pointed to Africa as having huge potential for producing a substantial amount of biofuel feedstock. However, only one speaker even acknowledged that there could be some “difficulty” in the continent matching up to the projected figures.

The pundits at the conference certainly aren’t the only one’s who are including substantial African figures in their projections. A quick call round the market seem to back up the general feeling that it is reasonable to include Africa’s vast feedstock potential in the forecasts.

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Intelligent debate is crucial to the development of biofuels. It is right and proper that people with ideas put them forward and that those idea are rigorously challenged, by people who think it is wrong or bad.

Sadly, however, some students at Brown University and their half witted friends at Greenwash Guerillas, don’t think this is the right way to go about things. It would seem that silencing critics is easier as New York Times columnist and author Thomas Friedman was pied by the Greenwash Guerillas while giving an Earth Day Lecture at Brown University. (see the video at the end of this piece.)

There is a long history of organizations and governments who chose to squash comment and opinion that they didn’t agree with; the Nazis, Pol Pot, Stalin, Robespierre to name a few. I’m sure Greenwash Guerillas and the students at Brown are proud to be associated with such company.

Perhaps the next step for The Greenwash Guerillas set-up a book burning night where they can get rid of any book that they consider transgresses their greenwash rules.

Whatever happened to the idea, often attributed to the great thinker Voltaire:

I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.

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Well you have to give it to the New York Times a couple of weeks ago I took severe exception to one of its columnists, Paul Krugman, who had written an appallingly smug piece, “Pointing the finger at biofuels won’t solve the problem“, about the biofuels market. According to Mr Krugman all the evils of the world could be laid squarely at the door of biofuels. In fact, if he were to be believed, we would rather have the four horsemen of the apocalypse trotting down the high street rather than countenance biofuels.

Well this week we have another op/ed columnist at the NY Times, Roger Cohen, whose piece “Bring on the right biofuels” rather neatly offers the other side of the story. In a nutshell he suggests that it is time to ditch the hysteria, look at the science and make positive choices about the biofuels that can help so many. It’s worth a read.

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There’s nothing quite as smug as an op-ed columnist, who claims the high ground, and currently The New York Times’s Paul Krugman is unbelievably smug. In a column, Grains Gone Wild (read the full piece) published on 7th April Krugman opens up with the platitude; “These days you hear a lot about the world financial crisis. But there’s another world crisis under way — and it’s hurting a lot more people.”

He is, of course, referring to a real and chronic shortage of staple food stuffs around the world. While I may not like his writing style, he is absolutely right. He is also bang on the nose when he suggests that there are a variety of reasons for the problem; “How did this happen? The answer is a combination of long-term trends, bad luck — and bad policy.”

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Perhaps the best example of weak economic and scientific logic at work on this issue is the recent attempt to push for biofuels and ethanol as alternative energy sources which can protect the environment and enhance national energy security in certain markets.

A forthright quote that leaves the reader in no doubt as to the speaker’s position. But who said the words, Greenpeace, Friends of the Eath, George Monbiot…? Well actually none of the above. In fact it was part of a speech (read the full text) given by The Honourable Ali bin Ibrahim Al-Nami, the Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources for Saudi Arabi at the International Oil Summit in Paris last week.

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While there is really nothing to add to the story, I couldn’t let the delightful tale of a man who has been arrested in the USA for allegedly stealing cooking grease from a fast food outlet, go unmentioned here. According to a report on the CBS website (Man Arrested In South Bay Restaurant Grease Heist) the alleged theft was possibly carried out in order to make biofuels with the inedible grease.

Any other pieces of delightful biofuels nonsense are much appreciated at “Fuelling the biofuels debate” just drop them on an email to giles@biofuelreview.com

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Thank goodness for a free and fearless press. Today’s (1st April) Guardian, a national newspaper in the UK, has uncovered the transatlantic splash and dash trade (Demands for crackdown on biofuels scam). The paper considers the story so important that it also gets a piece in the leader/op ed column (An unsustainable scam). Well done The Guardian…or could this be the very same story which Biofuel Review first reported in July last year when the EBB initially raised concerns about the practice (EBB calls for greater support for biodiesel in the EU) or later when the EBB first asked the European Commission to do something about the trade in October (US producers accused of dumping subisdised biodiesel on Europe)?

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I was reminded of William Booth’s, founder of the Salvation Army, words (see the headline) during the World Biofuels Markets event in Brussels last week when one despairing industry figure said he was really “pissed off” about the coverage of biofuels in the general media. His frustration was palpable. However, the industry, perhaps lured by the initial warm reception of biofuels by the media, has never really engaged in terms of addressing the publicity deficit.

Talking to several delegates at World Biofuels it became apparent that generally the feeling was that a straight presentation of the facts would in most cases sort out the publicity deficit and that the media balance would be restored. In part, a very small part, they are correct. There is a huge amount of touchy feely ’science’ that is paraded as fact, which does need correcting. But where the industry really looses out in the media game is in the presentation, the spin of the story. In short the tune!
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Apparently Willie Walsh’s accusation that Virgin’s foray into biofuels, (Virgin’s biofuel is a PR stunt says BA boss), was little more than a PR stunt has prompted Sir Richard Branson into a response (British Airways has no environmental strategy – we do), in today’s Guardian. He was scathing about Walsh’s stance. “Sniping from the sidelines is not the answer to climate change. If Walsh, who’s clearly used to being handed solutions on a plate, had his way the industry would go backwards. We need everyone to take action now”, said Branson.

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Biofuels for civil aviation is currently receiving substantial mileage in the general media. There was a distinct feeding frenzy, in the non specialist media, when Richard Branson’s Virgin group flew a 747 between London and Amsterdam, last month, using biofuels in one of its four tanks. (see Biofuel Review story)

The move was swiftly followed by last week’s announcement by US carrier Continental, that it too was going to conduct a biofuel test early next year, and this week The National Business Review in New Zealand unveiled that Air New Zealand was looking at an algae based fuel to test.

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