By Shilpy Arora
Mr. Balvinder has one ambition in life – “to thrive on farm-grown fuels as it is best option to earn good money and get a tax credit of doing eco-friendly stuff first time in India.”
He is one of the many farmers of Northern India who are switching over to Biofuel production. A decade ago Indian farmers encashed upon Green Revolution and then IT, are now nosing their way to Biofuel production. Biofuel has become one of the most attractive catchphrases in India today.
The Government is also squandering a lot of funds to increase usage of Biofuels. But, it is unaware of fact that Biofuels will increase pressure on land and lift the crop prices to a record high.
Recent researches have shown that Biofuel is doing exactly the opposite of what its proponents intended. In fact, Biofuels are adding to Global Warming and devastating green cover of the planet.
The problem with most biofuels is that their production needs land and this leads to the destruction of forests that suck up huge amounts of carbon from the environment.
Countries that have ignored it until now are paying the price. While Brazil and U.S. are facing the shortage of food and increased carbon emission, according to a report by Wetlands International, Indonesia has destroyed so many wildernesses to grow palm oil trees for Biodiesel that its ranking among the world’s top carbon emitters has surged from 21st to third.
Another study has revealed that it will take more than 400 years of Biodiesel use to pay back the carbon emitted by directly clearing peat lands to grow palm oil and clearing grasslands to grow corn or sugarcane for ethanol has a payback period of 93 years.
Moreover, every acre of land used for growing Biofuel can be used to grow food crops and thus, Biofuels also add up to the shortage of food. Recently, a U.N. report says that Biofuels pit the 800 million people with cars against the 800 million people with hunger problems.
The crux of the story is, Biofuels are not at all good option for a poor nation like India. Yes, we need energy resources, but our Green cover is more precious than Biofuel production. We have to understand that Biofuel are no more green and scientists of the world should look for another feasible and flawless alternative.
