The impact of biofuel-induced food-price inflation on dietary energy demand and dietary greenhouse gas emissions

Dramatic increases in liquid biofuel production have led to concerns about associated impacts on food prices, with many modeling studies showing significant biofuel-related price inflation. In turn, by changing patterns of food demand, biofuel production may indirectly influence greenhouse gas emissions. We estimated changes to dietary energy (calorie) demand and greenhouse gas emissions embodied in average diets under different biofuel-related food-price scenarios for Brazil, China and the United States, using food-price projections and food-price elasticities. Average energy demand decreased in all countries, from about 40 kcal per person per day in Brazil under a moderate price inflation scenario – a reduction of 1% relative to the (2009) reference scenario – to nearly 300 per day in the United States with high price inflation – almost 8% of reference levels. However, emissions per calorie increased slightly in all three countries. In terms of total greenhouse gas emissions, the results are suggestive of overall reductions only in the United States, where average reductions ranged from about 40 to 110 kg of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions per person per year. In China, the direction of impact is unclear, but the net change is likely to be small. Brazilian results were sensitive to parameter values and the direction and magnitude of impact is therefore uncertain. Despite the uncertainty, even small changes (positive or negative) in individual dietary emissions can produce large changes at the population level, arguing for the inclusion of the dietary pathway in greenhouse gas accounting of liquid biofuels.     

Why are there cattle in the conservation area? Social barriers to biofuel governance in Brazil

Amid a rapid expansion of global investments in biofuels there has been an equally rapid proliferation of concerns about the inadequacies of current governance schemes to mitigate the environmental impacts of growing agroenergy production. Managing the land use practices of small producers in a way that ensures their activities are financially and environmentally sustainable is a particularly pressing issue that has been overlooked in research on biofuel governance. I illuminate these challenges through an ethnographic study on the multiple breakdowns of environmental governance in the Southern Goiás region of Brazil, a major expansion region for sugarcane ethanol production. I focus on one of the most pressing compliance issues among small and medium size sugarcane farmers; their persistent use of federally mandated conservation areas for cattle production. I find that while these transgressions are often perceived by administrators and officials as being the result of a lack of “environmental awareness” among rural farmers, they are better understood as a safety net to protect landowners against perceived risks of sugarcane production. These violations are further enabled by continuing ambiguity in the enforcement structure for conservation legislation in the region. Recalibrating regulatory systems to better address these issues of accountability and risk is a critical step toward improving environmental governance of global biofuel commodity chains.     

海洋生物质能研究进展及其发展战略思考

生物质能的研究与开发的目的是解决化石资源短缺和温室气体排放等全球性问题。利用油料作物生产生物柴油和利用淀粉作物生产燃料乙醇是当前生物质能产业化开发的重要内容,其原料来源主要依赖农作物,从而导致了生物质能开发与粮食、耕地和水资源竞争的局面。海洋生物质能的开发和利用为解决上述问题提供了一条可能有效的出路。介绍了海洋生物质能的国内外研究进展,分析了有关国家战略需求和关键科学问题,提出了我国发展海洋生物质能的战略思考和下一步的研究重点。     

Health impacts of liquid biofuel production and use: A review

The dramatic growth in the production and use of liquid biofuels has led to concerns about associated impacts on human health. To date however, there has been no attempt to comprehensively synthesize the literature on this topic, despite a wealth of new research published over the past few years. We searched the Medline and Embase databases, as well as Google Scholar, in order to review the state of evidence linking liquid biofuels to human health, to characterize the magnitude of potential impacts, and to identify areas in need of more empirical research. The search results indicate that the key pathways to health associated with liquid biofuels consist of four sets of exposures: occupational hazards; water/soil pollution; air pollution relating both to the production and use of the fuel; and the price of food (affecting nutrition). Of these, only air pollution and food price seem likely to meaningfully influence health at the population level: liquid biofuels may improve air quality – at least in urban environments – but could have serious adverse effects on nutrition in food-insecure populations. However, much more work is needed in both areas. Very few studies have explored more indirect pathways to health, such as those relating to land-use change, climate change and economic factors.     

Prospects for the use of macro-algae for fuel in Ireland and the UK: An overview of marine management issues

Competing demand for land is driving biofuel and bioenergy research in various directions including macro-algae (seaweed). This paper reviews the main issues for the marine environment of cultivating and harvesting UK and Irish seaweed for biofuels/bioenergy, informed by stakeholder interviews. These showed stakeholders were sceptical of an offshore cultivation industry developing but generally considered inshore cultivation possible, while noting various practical obstacles and conditions. Views on expansion of seaweed harvesting were more divided, with research scientists being relatively cautious.     

Phytoremediation of Cadmium‐Contaminated Soil by Two Jerusalem Artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus L.) Genotypes

Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus L.) can be used not just for bioethanol production, bur potentially also for soil phytoremediation via removal of heavy metal pollutants. An experiment was carried out to characterize the phytoextraction efficiency of two Jerusalem artichoke genotype (NY2 and NY5) in cadmium (Cd) contaminated soil. After 90 days of growth, NY5 had greater plant biomass and greater Cd accumulation in tissues than NY2. The chlorophyll content and chlorophyll a fluorescence parameters were slightly higher when plants were grown in Cd‐contaminated versus control soil. It implies that this examined NY2 and NY5 can extract more Cd than some hyperaccumulators, indicating that NY2 and NY5 can be applied to clean up Cd‐contaminated soils. Compared with NY2, NY5 had higher phytoextraction potential due to more biomass and higher concentrations of Cd in tissues, and may therefore be the better candidates for phytoremediation in Cd‐contaminated soil.