WORLD POPULATION
7 Billion people
66% malnourished
Number 1 cause of death
U.S. FOOD CONSUMPTION
2,200 pounds/person/year
Food = 99.7% land
0.3 % Ocean
Food versus Biofuels
Director General of UN
Director General of FAO
Biofuels increasing Global Starvation
Solar Energy Captured by Plants
Green Plants = 0.1%
Photovoltaics = 15%
Fossil vs. Biomass
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
East
West
North
Total U.S. Biomass
Crops = 900 million tons
Grasses + Forest = 900 million tons
Total = 18,000 million tons
Food in SUV
22 lbs. corn/gal. ethanol
660 lbs. corn = SUV
1 fill up
Fossil Energy in Ethanol
1.5 gal. fossil energy =
1.0 gal. of ethanol
Importing oil and gas
Corn Production Inputs
Energy = 14 Inputs
Nitrogen and Mechanization
Energy Inputs in Corn Production
Energy inputs to produce corn
100 gallons/acre
Omissions Help Ethanol Return
• Farm labor omitted
• Farm machinery omitted
• Processing machinery omitted
• Hybrid corn omitted
• Irrigation omitted
• Environmental Impacts omitted
Environmental Impacts
• Soil Erosion
• Nitrogen
• Insecticides
• Herbicides
• 1,700 gals. Water per 1 gal. ethanol
• 1.5 gal. fossil energy per 1 gal. ethanol
• Global climate change
Water and Food
700,000 gals/Corn Acre
1,000 lbs of Water =
1 lb of Corn
Water Needs
Corn = 700,000 gals/acre/3 months
Rice = 14,000,000 gals/acre/3 months
Ethanol Production
DOE = 12 billion gallons
Total oil = 1.5%
40% of all corn
Ethanol Energy Costs
Total Energy Inputs = 30,000 kcal/gal
Ethanol Energy Output
19,000 kcal/gal
Processing Ethanol
9 additional energy inputs
For processing
Sewage Effluent
12 gallons of sewage effluent per
ethanol gallon produced
Subsidies for Ethanol
No Subsidies = $12 billion/yr
Subsidies 60 times greater than gas
Costs to U.S. Consumer
Congressional Budget Office
Consumer = $9 billion groceries
World Food Prices Highest Ever
Increased Food Prices
Corn and Wheat Prices in India
Increased 75% last year
World Bank Reports
“Corn Ethanol Clearly Flawed”
Dan Kammen. Time, June 7th
Science 2006 (Positive)
Dan = 1.25 gal. net
100% U.S. Corn
Total oil = 4%
By-Product Credits
USDA Byproducts = 67%
Accurate Value = 9%
Ethanol from Cellulose
50 lbs cellulose/gal ethanol
22 lbs corn/gal ethanol
Grasses into Ethanol
100 million cattle
Insects eat 3-fold that of cattle
USDA = Serious overgrazing
QuickTime™ and a decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
Livestock Numbers
9 billion chickens
100 million cattle
60 million hogs
Grain Fed Livestock
50% Grain Fed Livestock
400 million Humans
Cellulosic Ethanol
54 lbs. switchgrass /gal. ethanol
22 lbs. corn vs. 54 lbs. switchgrass
2 gal fossil = 1 gal Cell-ethanol
SWITCHGRASS FUEL
10 t/ha/yr yield
1 gal. Ethanol = 2 gal. oil
LIGNIN FUEL
Acid Dissolves Lignin
Frees starches and sugars
SUNFLOWER OIL
Production = 1,500 lbs/Acre
Sunflower = 26% oil
Biodiesel = 2 gal. oil = 1 gal. oil
Soybean Production
Production = 3,000 lbs/Acre
Soybean oil = 18%
Biodiesel = 1.6 gal. = 1 gal. oil
Jatropha
30 lbs. jatropha = 1 gal. oil
Worker 8 hrs. 30 lbs. seeds
$2.68 per day vs $13.00
Oil in the Future
Oil reserves depleted 2040
DOE
Climate Change
Top Related