Germany 's Production And Consumption Of Biodiesel

Thirdly, the cost of biofuel is high because its production and infrastructural cost is humongous. To create biofuel, large tracts of land need to be cleared for setting up the plant. This is not feasible because of global economic meltdown whose one major disadvantage is the rising food prices. If the land that could be better used for producing the much needed food crops, there is no need to use the same land for generating biofuels (FAO 07). Furthermore, the cost of establishing and running a biofuel plant runs into billions. Where would the money come from? Of course, the people have to pay for them, doubly, first for purchasing biofuel and secondly in the form of taxes. Ironically, the common man cannot afford such expenses given the current economic situation, which if not controlled will create more problems in the future like unemployment, an issue more important than debating biofuels and diesel fuels (Stern 07).

The world has seen fuel prices spiral up or down to meet supply and demand. Because of this, people need to choose a cost effective fuel to meet their needs. Vehicles in the world today run off of many different types of fuel. Biodiesel is a modern fuel compared to the commonly known diesel. Biodiesel has several advantages over diesel. Biodiesel fuel comes from a renewable resource, it is better on the environment, and it meets the Environmental Protection Agency’s definition for fuel standards. In addition, Biodiesel is the most promising alternative fuel source, backed by both federal approval and incentives. Finally, consumer attitudes are changing for the positive when it comes to biodiesel. For these reasons, biodiesel should be used more often by people in the world today.

Bio diesel is good for the economy because it is a fuel which can be created from locally available resources such as vegetable oils, coffee grounds, and animal fats. Biodiesel production and use

This article discusses the requirements needed to achieve a shift from the troubled world energy situation away from fossil fuels. It discusses the cost the transition away from fossil fuels. Highlighted, is a scenario developed by the Stockholm Environment Institute, Fossil Free Energy Scenario. Germany is a leader in the climate change issue. The article also discusses policies that could be implemented to improve and possibly solve the climate

Initial research has shown that biodiesel, liter for liter, generates about 90 percent of the heat of traditional fossil fuels, and the resulting air emissions are significantly lower in sulphur, carbon monoxide, and hydrocarbons. Burning these fuels also does not contribute to global warming. Fossil fuels increase the amount of carbon in the atmosphere because the carbon they release upon combustion has been locked away for millennia. The carbon released by the combustion of biodiesel first had to be removed from the atmosphere by the plant that produced the oils it was derived from. Thus, no net gain occurs when said carbon is released. Biodiesel is also safer for people and the environment since it is non-toxic and biodegradable. Oil spills will no longer be multi-million dollar environmental catastrophes.

In other places around the globe such as Europe, leading organizations such as the European Union agree with the evidence that states biofuels compete with the food supply, leading to deforestation and hunger. As a result, they have put a cap of 7% of biofuels to be used towards total fuel used for transportation. With regulation in place, the European Union hopes to prevent an increase to food prices, deforestation, and land grabbing. However, these regulations work against the organization’s 10% renewable energy

Some environmentalists, such as George Monbiot, have expressed fears that the marketplace will convert crops to fuel for the rich, while the poor starve and biofuels cause environmental problems. (George Monbiot. 2004). Environmental groups have raised concerns about this trade-off for several years. (Michael Grunwald. 2008). (European Environmental Bureau. 2006). (Planet Ark. 2005). (Greenpeace UK. 2007). The food vs fuel debate reached a global scale in 2008 as a result of the international community's concerns regarding the steep increase in food prices. On April 2008, Jean Ziegler, back then United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, called biofuels a "crime against humanity". (Emilio San Pedro. 2008). A claim he had previously made in October 2007, when he called for a 5-year ban for the conversion of land for the production of biofuels. (Lederer, Edith. 2007). Also on April 2008, the World Bank's President, Robert Zoellick, stated that "While many worry about filling their gas tanks, many others around the world are struggling to fill their stomachs. And it's getting more and more difficult every day." (Larry Elliott and Heather Stewart. 2008). (Steven Mufson. 2008). Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva gave a strong rebuttal, calling these claims "fallacies resulting from commercial interests," and putting the blame instead on U.S. and European agricultural subsidies, and a problem restricted to U.S. ethanol produced from maize. The Brazilian President has also claimed on several occasions that his country's sugar cane–based ethanol industry has not contributed to the food price crises. (Julia Duailibi. 2008). (Raymond Colitt. 2008). A report released by Oxfam in June 2008. (Oxfam. 2008-06-25). Criticized biofuel policies of rich countries as neither a solution to the climate crisis nor the oil crisis, while contributing to the food price crisis. The report concluded

In the world of global warming, all kinds of pollution and fuel shortages going on, renewable and clean/ green energy is increasingly the ideal solution of energy related problems we have to solve one way or another. Biofuel is one of the mainstream and highly supported solutions nowadays, an idea to make renewable fuel by living organisms such as fiber, corn, vegetable oil or sugar cane. Unlike nonrenewable fossil fuels over extracted by people causing various environmental problems like generating a considerable amount greenhouse gas, current technology already lets renewable fuel like biofuels to shrink a certain amount of greenhouse gas production, making it a more ‘clean’ source of energy.

This essay focuses on two renewable energy resources. First of all, biofuel is now accepted as alternative energy in worldwide. The figures continue upward trend in the biofuel production. ‘An annual growth rate of 6.8% from 2006 to 2030 is expected for total biofuels consumption in the transport sector’ (International Energy Agency: 2008 cited in Zhou, et al., 2009:S11). Significant leaders of the biofuel market are Brazil, the United States and the European Union. The results of research indicated that 92% of the world’s ethanol is produced by Brazil and US together, while 90% of the world’s biodiesel manufactured by the EU. In addition, several developing countries in Asia such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines have an enormous potential for biofuel production. Now these countries are

Biodiesel is a fuel similar to diesel derived from a plant source, like corn, used vegetable oil, or even algae. This biofuel is created from renewable resources to replace the low source of fossil fuels that is unfortunately nonrenewable. Because of this situation society was basically coerced into finding a substitute. While the price is getting higher due to recent events between the United States (U.S. )and Third World Countries. Due to these situations society had to come up with a cheaper, renewable source of fuel. Biodiesel is the key to releasing the chains of restraint that have been placed upon citizens by those third world countries.

As we have previously discussed in Chapter one, the global demand for biofuels is expected to continue its

Another key task is the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions since the energy transfer to renewable and clean energy sources will help to get rid of emissions from power plants based on coal and natural gas. In Germany, 30 % of CO2 emissions accounted for the production of electricity (Energiewende 27). According to the Chairman of the Expert Council on Ecology, Martin Faulstich, Germany can achieve a full transition to renewable energy sources (i. e. rejection of nuclear power, oil, gas, and coal) by 2050. In accordance with his words, the plan is feasible from a financial point of view, and in the long term this strategy is economically more profitable. The program of energy sector modernization in Germany, which provides that the share of renewable energy, including biogas, geothermal, hydroelectric, wind, and solar

According to the data (Table no.1) the United States is the main producer of biofuel. However, other countries are working to improve their biofuel production such as Italy and Finland (Demirbas, 2008). In 2009, the most production of bioethanol achieved by Brazil and United States which produced a huge

Consequently, another new challenge which the airline industry is currently undergoing is the ability to find a greener solution to fuel so that aviation is not purely dependent on fossil fuels. Some sources of literature have alleged biofuels to not be the answer to cleaner fuels as although the direct emissions from airplanes powered by a biofuel mix may be reduced, the indirect emissions through producing biofuels are significant. Biofuels create a lot of pressures on carbon sinks through the way they are cropped causing strains on the land and rainforests (Bringezu et al, 2009), which adds to the greenhouse effect, furthermore increasing climate change. Due to the size of land required of biofuel production, it can also threaten biodiversity of flora and fauna and

Advantages: Biodiesel produce significantly lesser amount of emissions compared to petroleum fuels. It results in much less air pollution due to its higher oxygen content and lack most components contributing to the formation of pollutants. The one exception to this is nitrogen oxide emissions, which tend to be slightly higher when using biodiesel. Proper tuning of the engine can minimize this problem. Based on engine testing, using the most stringent emissions testing protocols required by Environment Protection Agency (EPA) for certification of fuels or fuel additives in the USA, the overall ozone forming potential of the hydrocarbon emissions from biodiesel was nearly 50 % less than that measured for petroleum diesel fuel. This trait of biodiesels could be able to contribute in reducing global warming which currently is getting the attention of world.