We promoted the debate because Spanish researchers recently argued that biofuels, instead of solving climate change, could end up damaging the environment more.
We see biofuels as a clean and renewable source of energy and an alternative to reduce the emission of polluting gases and the deterioration of the environment. However, new studies by the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology of the University of Barcelona affirm that the alternative use of these products has a negative impact both economically, socially and environmentally.
We must bear in mind that the production of biofuels, such as biodiesel and ethanol, is derived from organic products such as corn, sugar cane; vegetable oils (oil palm, castor and other products) or stables and crop residues, when in a country or a continental region the demand for products increases, as raw material, it would be subject to the natural laws of supply and demand, this would eventually cause an increase in the prices of food derived from corn, wheat, soybeans, oil palm, etc.
It is true that the main argument in favor of biofuels is the fact that it helps reduce the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and the experiences in Brazil where they use ethanol as biofuel are cited. However, a more detailed analysis, taking into account the life cycle of biodiesel reveals that the energy and CO2 savings are not as high as thought, and could even be negative for the environment, given that the raw material used In biofuel production it is obtained through intensive agriculture and this type of activity, alters the natural balance of local ecosystems, increases the use of agrochemicals (fertilizers, insecticides,fungicides and herbicides) and agricultural machinery that, as we know, contribute to the compaction of soils and contaminate the soil with residues of hydrocarbon combustion.
This process also requires the use of fossil fuels (petroleum) during the production phases, as well as in transportation to and from processing plants. Therefore the debate arises, which requires a more careful analysis on the side of pollution for rural areas. With these fuels, they are not only seen as a global and local «green» option to reduce environmental contamination and all the health problems associated with it. Apparently the advantages in this regard would be very modest.
Faced with this situation, the question of rigor: then what to do? The best possible and safest way to reduce the use of fossil fuels and lessen the impact on the environment would be to: make political decisions to protect and recover degraded ecosystems, modify our consumption patterns and life habits as many countries have achieved.
According to the Spanish researcher Daniela Russi, if diesel gasoline were replaced with a mixture of 5.75% biodiesel - as the European Union is trying to establish - nitrogen oxides (NOx) would increase insignificantly and hydrocarbons (HC) and monoxide carbon (CO) would decrease respectively 6% and 3%. As mentioned, in the face of these modest advantages, the disadvantages of large-scale biodiesel production would be enormous.
To the aforementioned disadvantages, include the enormous requirements of land to cultivate, the substitution of diversified food crops for monocultures, deforestation and burning of vegetable remains after “shunting” for energy crops on humid topics. This in turn would lead to the disappearance of biodiversity, the decrease of fertile lands and water, also negative social effects, such as the displacement of local communities.
A recent experience was seen with the price of corn in the United States, which increased to its highest value in 10 years due to the growing demand in that country for bioethanol derived from corn. In Mexico - the main importer of corn from the United States - it was especially affected since people had to pay up to 30% more for one of their basic and traditional foods: corn tortilla.
The issue must be approached with great care, because it could be fostering a false optimism that there is a technological solution to solve the problem of our excessive dependence on fossil fuels, so it would be important to take into account the following recommendations:
1. A political decision at regional and national level, to avoid deforestation in our Amazon rainforest and to substitute concessions for wood extraction with commercial wood production.
2. The redistribution of the benefits of the mining, forestry and energy canon, prioritizing the solution of environmental liabilities, such as decontamination of affected basins (water, soil and biodiversity), with significant investments at the national level.
3. It is not strange to anyone, that the beneficiaries of the mining canon, for example, the millions of US dollars are destined to continue sowing cement in sports ware and sumptuous infrastructure and other expenses that are not related to the environmental and social impacts of the mining industry., the just thing would be to invest in the control and prevention of the absorption of lead and other contaminants and accumulation in the blood of children; give life to the “dead” rivers due to the polluting effects of the “tailings”, such as the case of the Huallaga river, in Huánuco.
4. Any predatory and extractive activity, not only affects the area where they operate, but the effect is global. The problems of the jungle areas derive from the high Andean mountains and vice versa, therefore desertification, for example, is occurring throughout the country. When water is lacking due to the disappearance of the snow-capped mountains, which they believe will happen with the export crops of the coast and the large cities that are subsidized by the country's high Andean area.
5. The change of habits, of moving on foot or by bicycle instead of transport with vehicles, not only will we reduce pollution, but we will take care of our health. Use other means of heavy transport in the area, for example the train from Lima to Pucallpa, only deciding to build the railway from Cerro de Pasco to Pucallpa and then continue to Brazil as an alternative project of "Inter-Oceanic Railroad".
