Word: switchgrass
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...research suggesting that biofuels in general - and corn ethanol in particular - created more carbon emissions by accelerating deforestation than they saved by replacing fossil fuels. "It's definitely something we need to study," he said. Vilsack suggested that second-generation biofuels like cellulosic ethanol manufactured from switchgrass could solve the problem, particularly if it were grown on unproductive hillsides so that it wouldn't displace food crops. "You can get that stuff 25 feet high - and you don't need as much land or fertilizer or energy to grow it," Vilsack told me. "If we want to save the rain...
Offenheiser said he supported moving towards so-called “second generation biofuels,” like switchgrass, that are not a part of the food supply...
...rising food prices. Under the new Farm Bill, corn-based ethanol producers may see their tax credit fall as much as 6 cents per gallon, down to 45 cents. The bill would instead offer a $1-per-gallon subsidy to producers of cellulosic ethanol, made from corn stalks, switchgrass and wood chips, which studies show can be produced more efficiently than corn-based fuel...
...several new studies show the biofuel boom is doing exactly the opposite of what its proponents intended: it's dramatically accelerating global warming, imperiling the planet in the name of saving it. Corn ethanol, always environmentally suspect, turns out to be environmentally disastrous. Even cellulosic ethanol made from switchgrass, which has been promoted by eco-activists and eco-investors as well as by President Bush as the fuel of the future, looks less green than oil-derived gasoline...
...that are actually available right now, but the evidence suggests we be better off not relying on them. But even Fargione doesn't argue that we should ditch biofuels altogether. Biofuels using waste matter - like wood chips, or the leftover sections of corn stalks - or from perennial plants like switchgrass, effectively amount to free fuel, because they don't require clearing additional land. "There's no carbon debt," notes Fargione. Unfortunately, the technology for yielding fuel from those sources - like cellulosic biofuels - is still in its infancy, though it is improving fast. In the end, the right kind of biofuel...