Water not oil is priceless and scarce--biofuels won't save us

CABS, the Ohio State bus system, received a one star green fleet certification from the Ohio Green Fleets Program on August 13, 2009 for using B20 biodiesel in all its transit buses and para-transit vans. CABS began in September 2003 with its first soy B20 fueled bus and by June 2006, extended B20 to all its fleet of 27 transit buses on 6 different routes.

The Ohio Green Fleets Program is part of CleanFuels Ohio, a non-profit funded by the U.S. Department of Energy. CleanFuels Ohio. It was created with federal money in 2002--so this isn’t a recent development, it‘s a Bush Administration program. However, V. P. Joe Biden stopped by in August to announce that this Bush era alternative fuels program was receiving stimulus funding. The CAB accomplishments preceded that announcement.

“the U.S. Department of Energy has awarded $11.04 million in economic stimulus funding to Clean Fuels Ohio's Ohio Advanced Transportation Partnership through the U.S. DOE Clean Cities Grant program. Funds will be used to support the deployment of 283 alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicles plus refueling infrastructure for 26 government and private sector partners throughout Ohio. Including matching support from local partners and additional industry supporters, the award embodies an investment of nearly $30 million in alternative fuel vehicle and infrastructure projects across the state.”

So now, while millions of people are struggling in third world countries for enough to eat, and the most valuable commodity we have is water, a major input for biofuels, we worsen the condition of millions by putting soy and corn products in our gas tanks. Doesn’t anyone remember the food riots of just two years ago? It doesn’t help the environment, and we knew even before Climategate that global warming isn’t caused by humans. I’m all for a clean environment and more efficient fuels, but you don’t have to read too far into the biofuel publications to see we’re going backward with expensive inputs, more water usage and waste water, and pollution.