Research Paper on Biofuels Benefit.

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Daniel King
North Park Dialogue II
Research Paper
April 4, 2008
Dr. Ankney
Title: Biofuels Bad Mark

Worldwide consumption of non-renewable fuels has inevitably led to a surge in the need for biofuels. This increased demand has opened up opportunities for biofuel producers to make money. In order to make biofuels you need land to grow the fuels. As a result forests are being destroyed in order to make room for these crops. In turn there is a reduction in plants that help reduce carbon levels among a host of other positive benefits. Furthermore, the economically deprived are being further strained as staple food prices increase with the competition of biofuel production. Biofuels can potentially be a good thing but not if they are continued at the current production standards and methods. In light of utilitarian ethics unregulated production and growth of bio fuels is ecologically unfriendly and socially unjust.

Fast and cheap transportation, supported by inexpensive fuel, is a vital component of both American and international economies today. Since the invention of the wheel transportation methods have continued to improve. The one remaining constant thing has been the need for a source of power to make it move. The power burden has been carried by everything from the backs of horses and oxen to the paddles and sails of ships. The most outstanding source of this power, in the world today, has been oil.
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According to the Energy Information Administration “Total petroleum consumption of liquid fuels and other petroleum products averaged 20.7 million barrels per day in
2007” (one barrel of petroleum is 42 gallons). The Energy Information Administration has also published charts that indicate 85.7 million barrels per day were consumed worldwide in 2007. Though the consumption of oil in the United States continues to increase year-to-year it pales in comparison to the consumption of oil worldwide. According to the charts published by The Energy Information Administration worldwide consumption is up from 76.6 to 85.7 million barrels per day since the year 2000. The consumption of this oil becomes a problem when you understand the ramifications of this consumption, particularly for the United States. The Institute for the Analysis of Global Security estimates that “22 percent of the world's oil is controlled by states that sponsor terrorism and are under U.S./United Nations sanctions”. Gal Luft executive director of the institute, further states that "We are, in fact, fighting a war on terrorism and paying for both sides of the war". As the demand for oil increases those who control the sources of the oil gain more power.

Along with a decrease in the need for foreign oil the United States also hopes to reduce the greenhouse gas effect that is occurring as a result of increased carbon emissions. President Bush has repeatedly stated that we must “get off oil”. His most
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recent declaration of this goal was given at the Washington International Renewable Energy Conference in D.C. He recognizes the truth of the fact that by importing foreign oil we are “paying for both sides of the war” and contributing to an ever-warming climate. The gradual warming of our globe has become an increasingly
prevalent issue among leaders internationally. The threat of monumental natural disasters has expedited the efforts to limit the amount of carbon that is being pumped into the atmosphere. World news is continually bombarded with new reports detailing the latest problems that come along with a warming globe. A quick glance at the BBC world report will show a host of environmental issues being dealt with internationally. More recently there was an article titled “Atlantic Glaciers Surge to Ocean” yet another sign of global warming.

Both the hope to relieve dependence on foreign oil and a hope to curtail environmental damage have been the driving force behind the development of alternative fuels. Though there are many alternative sources of power one that has remained popular is biofuel. Biofuels in their most basic definition are a fuel (as wood or ethanol) composed of or produced from biological raw materials (Merriam-Webster). Among these biofuels, ethanol has risen to the forefront as it, in theory, relieves dependence on foreign oil and reduces carbon emissions. The United States has supported the move to ethanol by providing “exemption from federal gasoline
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excise taxes, whole or partial exemption from road use (sales) taxes in nine states, a federal production tax credit, and a federal blender's credit”. (Solomon, 416) With powerful support behind them ethanol and similar biofuels have taken off. Since 1980 ethanol has been produced in the United States (Solomon 414). At the same conference mentioned earlier, the Washington International Renewable Energy Conference in D.C., president Bush proclaimed, “Since 2001, ethanol production has
quadrupled from 1.6 billion gallons in 2000 to an estimated 6.4 billion gallons in 2007, with the vast majority coming from corn.” With each extra ounce of ethanol produced the demand for foreign oil decreases that much more. In addition, “Relative to the fossil fuels they displace, greenhouse gas emissions are reduced 12% by the production and combustion of ethanol” (Hill, 1118). These numbers are clear signals that the United States is slowly eliminating their dependence on foreign oil.

Fast and cheap transportation, supported by inexpensive fuel, will remain a vital component of both American and international economies today but, in light of utilitarianism the methods used to create the fuel are ecologically and socially unjust. Ecosystems and communities alike have experienced injustices as a result of the surge in biofuel demand. Utilitarian ethics primarily addresses the question, as is explained by Harris, “Will this action produce greater overall human well-being?” a

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question that is applied to the animal world as well. Utilitarianism can be broken down into two parts; act utilitarianism and rule utilitarianism. The current biofuel situation, as is being discussed in this paper, will be examined in light of act utilitarianism in which, according to Harris, the morality of a situation is judged based on whether the act itself produces the most utility.
Biofuels can burn more effectively and put out fewer pollutants than regular gasoline as was stated earlier in the paper. The only problem is that you need a lot of it to meet the increasing demand. So much so that it is estimated that “Even dedicating all
U.S. corn and soybean production to biofuels would meet only 12% of gasoline demand and 6% of diesel demand.” (Hill, 1120). This is causing ecological and social problems that will continue if not regulated properly. Ecologically it is destroying forests that are vital to sustaining a planet that can support life.

Plants are vital to life in that they convert the carbon dioxide that many living things emit into oxygen that we in turn can breath back in again. As such it is important that in attempting to reduce effects of global warming we ensure their security and safety. Without carbon consuming organisms the world would quickly become uninhabitable for life, as we know it. A scientist by the name of Phillips conducted research to determine the benefits of tropical forests and their ability to consume more carbon than they take in. His research found that
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“Long-term monitoring of plots in mature humid tropical forests concentrated in South America revealed that biomass gain by tree growth exceeded losses from tree death in 38 of 50 Neotropical sites. These forest plots have accumulated 0.71 ton, plus or minus 0.34 ton, of carbon per hectare per year in recent decades. The data suggest that Neotropical forests may be a significant carbon sink, reducing the rate of increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide.” (439)
The forests that these research findings were conducted on are the very ones that are being taken down to provide room for more farmland. Because such a large number of crops are needed to meet demand of ethanol more farmland is needed.

The South American country of Brazil is one of many nations that are seeing biofuel demand problems. They have a long history with biofuels dating back to 1975 when the Brazilian government recognized the advantage that ethanol could provide (Carlos, 401). Among other things they had the infrastructure in place to support production. And similar to the United Stats they noticed that an alternative fuel source would mean a decreased dependence on imports of foreign oil which made up nearly half, in monetary value, of their imports at the time (Carlos, 404). However, the recent surge in demand has disrupted the balance the maintained nationally. Their

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role as one of the members at the forefront of alternative, renewable resource production has brought them a host of problems.

The Amazonian rainforests are continually being logged to provide more room for cropland to grow biofuels. The deforestation has escalated to such a level in 2007 that Brazil went as far as to dispatch troops in order to help regain control. According to Jeff Tollefson Brazil has had to launch “a military-style crackdown” (134) on deforestation. Just previous to the enforcement the deforestation numbers had been down nearly 59% over the previous three years. However, the National Institute for Space Research in Sao Jose dos Campos had clear satellite imagery that depicted that
much more of the Amazonian jungles had been forested than previously thought. This halted any celebration that could have been had and turned into a stern concentrated effort to fix the problem.

The first question that should be looked at is, what utility is there in destroying the forest. The deforestation is not only putting a strain on the environment but also affecting numerous species of wildlife. The intricacies of Brazilian rainforests are still not completely known. New species are continually being found, some of which have fantastic medical benefits. The easies measurement to take is to see where
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forests had been and where they are now. It is much more difficult to measure the direct effect of the deforestation on certain species and their development in the region and the ecosystem at large. It would be easy to say that logging should ultimately cease in the rainforests of Brazil but the issue is not that simple. The money they make from logging the trees in that region allows them to continue living. Considering the statistic stated above in which “dedicating all U.S. corn and soybean production to biofuels would meet only 12% of gasoline demand and 6% of diesel demand” the loggers seem to have fairly good job security. The loggers could care less if the land is being used for crops or for a shopping mall. The fact is the logging industry provides “jobs for 2,000 to 3,000 people” (Saul Paulo). The loggers see what they do as a job that has one major consequence, a paycheck. The problem with this arises when you the destruction that is occurring “it is believed that more than 70% of wood felled in the area is of illegal origin.” (Sau Paulo). Yet the bottom line, for
them, remains that they will get a paycheck that will help them pay for bills, education for children, food, shelter and other essentials. Putting this into a broad perspective, however, their actions have far more ramifications than simply providing their families with food and shelter. In this regard there should be a way in which the loggers can continue their methods of life along with the environment, which effects the world, to preserve its integrity. This balance will only come through regulation.
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At a national level the increase in demand for biofuels was a great thing for many people in Brazil. Sugar-cane mill owners were suddenly operating at full capacity despite low demand for sugars worldwide. Furthermore, commuters saw a drop in fuel prices. The cars people were already driving only needed minor modifications in order to utilize the new biofuels. However, even Brazil soon faced problems with their alternative fuel production. The rate at which the biofuels were needed was not being met by the expansion and production of the crops. Markets changed and farmers grew other things. The ensuing crises required major government intervention to prevent an economic and social disaster. Fortunately government regulation was able to handle the problems. Through various stipulations and standards the Brazilian government managed to keep problems from getting out of control. This situation is now occurring at an international, worldwide, scale. The demand for biofuels is greater than ever and it will require “expansion and production” at a much larger scale. However, when looking at an international scale major regulation is much more difficult to develop and not a main idea of this paper.
Another drawback to biofuel production is the resulting elevated food prices. Though the actual production of biofuels may not directly affect food prices it will have a generalized effect to the market at large. It is a simple supply and demand relationship. If there is more land that is being dedicated to grow crops that can be turned into fuel fewer fields are being planted with crops that can support human
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growth and life. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in their report on fighting world food inflation “International prices of most cereals have risen sharply over the past two years and remain at unusually high levels”. The report continued to discuss the causes for the rise in prices and cited “an increase in demand from the biofuels sector” as a contributing factor. This demand continues as the world is estimated to be expanding by about 76 million people annually (Alexandratos, 237). Though this is projected to level off in the not so distant future the fact of the matter is that it is still increasing today. When the world’s population actually levels off is when assumptions for demand of basic food needs will prove correct. Until that point food production must increase along with the population in order to supply the demand. This goal will become ever more difficult to meet as biofuels compete directly with it. The promotion of life, whether it be wild animal or a developed human, is always more important in Utilitarianism. The moment biofuel demand causes necessary food to become unaffordable to the worlds poor is when any utility that could have been found in biofuel production disappears entirely.

The problem is gaining publicity as some lawmakers demand that biofuels not be produced unless they are put under strict standards. A recent news article by Tim Hirsch in the BBC highlighted this fact with the article title “Biofuels need strict
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standards”. Without such standards there will continue to be pressure put on the fragile ecosystems found in the Amazon. The European Union met in attempts to try and reach agreements among bigger nations to help stop the misuse of biofuels and search for more efficient alternatives. Peter Mandelson, the EU Trade Commissioner, in a speech entitled “The Biofuel Challenge” at the Biofuel Conference stated, “Biofuel policy is not ultimately an industrial policy or an agricultural policy - it is an environmental policy, driven above all by the greenest outcomes". Though this statement might encourage others it does not reach the full range of the problem. The commissioner largely ignores the other potential consequences of an increase in biofuel production and merely looks at the environmental aspect of their production and use. This has not gone unnoticed by the public however. Most recently there have been protestors that have stopped implementation of mandatory ethanol requirements in Britain. The Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation (RTFO), in the United Kingdom, hopes to have “2.5% of fuels” sold at the pumps containing biofuels. Protestors have urged that the policy be delayed until further review can be made as to the benefits of biofuels both environmentally and whether international need for food can be met at a reasonable price along with biofuels.


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Production of biofuels such as ethanol must be regulated in order to have any type of positive effect. It is only at this point that the benefits of biofuels will outweigh the drawbacks and in turn produce the greatest utility. You cannot say biofuel is good if it is contributing to the overall destruction of the world’s environment and the increased strain of daily living for the world’s poor. These activities as Harris puts it “would not promote the general welfare” (111). There is potential that the very market that is promoting the destruction of these forests could help prevent the destruction. The trade of carbon credits has been a recent phenomenon in which businesses have seen that it is beneficial, economically, to be environmentally friendly. The idea could potentially be put at a larger international scale thus promoting countries and other influential businesses to be more environmentally aware. Issues of monitoring and overall market regulation would be some of the issues that could arise as a result, but the idea would be in place to further environmental gains.

In conclusion, biofuel production in its current state is environmentally unfriendly and socially unjust. The only way in which it will become anything else, and provide the greatest amount of utility, is the introduction of stricter regulations. There are some that are on the right path and see the need for regulation and even economic reward for better regulation. However, it will take many more people and much
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more time for the wider public to become aware of the issue and in turn create sweeping change. Countries like Brazil have shown that being too lax in the past with their regulations can result in environmental and social unrest. They have also shown that stepping up their enforcement of basic standards in order to keep things from getting out of control can work. Their example can be modeled and potentially implemented at a larger scale to induce the same effect. Without these regulations the biodiversity of forests and the environmental benefits of ecologically diverse ecosystems will be lost. In addition, the humans that inhabit this planet will find themselves unable to afford the food they need to live. An ecological and socially just biofuel producing world is possible but not without the help of regulations to prevent ecological destruction and social injustice.










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