It seems that whenever something comes along that promises to "help the environment" and "make the U.S. energy independent" there is a jump onto the bandwagon that may or may not be justified. I think this holds true for the biofuel industry as well. This article is being written to make you think about this topic. When you think and become educated about a subject then you can make your own decisions. If you make your own decisions then you will not be led blindly down a politician's path. This article also assumes that you know the basics of biofuels.

Recently President Bush made a trip to Brazil to start what he would like to see, an international market for ethanol. It made sense to go to Brazil for this because Brazil is energy independent. Did you know that? Yes, Brazil is energy independent. They use ethanol created from sugar cane. Brazil saw and acted on the problem with oil dependence decades ago after the oil crisis of 1973. The key phrase here is that they "acted on it." Thanks to Brazil's forward thinking, they are currently running cars on bio and fossil fuel mixtures. Filling stations offer a choice of alcohol or gas with gas being twice the price. Which would you choose?

It all sounds great, doesn't it? And maybe it will be, but here is what I want you to think about. There are many environmentalists, scientists and economists that are not touting the glories of biofuel. What they are calling for is a step back to take a look at the long-term effects of a worldwide rush into biofuel usage. Being conservative by nature, my ears perk up when ENVIRONMENTALISTS want to put the brakes on biofuel!

One of the leading problems with ethanol production in Brazil are the vast amounts of land that are needed to produce enough sugar cane to satisfy the need for ethanol production. A major problem with these large sugar can plantations is that due to the sheer size, eco-systems have been replaced with sugar can fields. Harvesting sugar cane requires burning the fields and as you can imagine, this creates some serious air pollution. It is interesting to note here that Brazil is the fourth largest producer of carbon emissions in the world. I am not saying that the two are related; it's just interesting that a country that is a leader in biofuels is also a leader in carbon emissions. Hmmm.

What will the U.S. have to produce in vast quantities to fulfill the ethanol craze? In Brazil sugar cane is a no brainer because of the climate. The U.S. is looking toward corn as a source for ethanol production. I don't know about this. It just rubs me the wrong way. Corn is food. Plain and simple. Can we in good conscience burn food in our gas tanks while there are people who starve? Again, this is something to think about.

Putting aside my personal feelings about burning food, let's talk about producing organic material such as corn. What goes into growing all this stuff? Well you got your farm vehicles using fuel, your fertilizers and your pesticides. What would you say if I told you that there is an estimate circulating that states corn needs 30% more energy than the finished fuel it produces? Think about that. Does it put your shorts in a twist?

Now, of course it is possible that there will be advances in technology to reduce this percentage rate. That's the great thing about Americans - where there is a need, we fulfill it. But as it stands right now, it doesn't seem to me that grown organic material for fuel is all it's cracked up to be. Or at the very least, I tend to side with the group that wants to slow down and take a careful look at this thing. Hopefully this article has given you some things to ponder when the subject of biofuels comes up.