Carlsen on biofuels

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"AGROFUELS: 'GREEN' FOR THE PLANET OR FOR CORPORATE PROFITS?" By Laura Carlsen

Agrofuel development has arrived on the global stage. Just this year, the number of declarations, dollars, and development plans that have gone to agrofuels are unparalleled in any other sector. An idea that languished for decades has suddenly become the darling of politicians, big business, international financiers, and the media.

This fact alone should make us worry. Since when has an ecological response to fossil fuel use found favor with governments and corporations alike? Agrofuels have been touted as the solution to the most pressing problems facing U.S. society and the planet. Promoters claim they reduce greenhouse gas emissions, stave off the end of industrial growth based on fossil fuels, are sustainable and renewable, increase energy security, and help farmers. But a closer look reveals that in many ways the rosy future envisioned by agrofuels promoters looks like the worst of the past. The "green" in agrofules looks more like dollar signs than plants.

Laura Carlsen (lcarlsen(a)ciponline.org) is the director of the Americas Program, at www.americaspolicy.org, in Mexico City.

See new article online at:
http://americas.irc-online.org/am/4535

Other recent articles in the Americas Policy Program series on Agrofuels:
The Dark Side of Agrofuels: Horror in the "Brazilian California"

Biofuels and Small Farmers

Brazil's Ethanol Plan Breeds Rural Poverty, Environmental Degradation