EnglishClub ESL Forums

Biofuels are the answer to the energy question. Do YOU agree?

English checker:
biofuel = a fuel made directly from living matter (for example, from plants such as rice or wheat)
energy = power (such as electricity)

Yes! It's more than just energy. It would also improve agricultural economy. Solving energy shortage and the overreliance of oil countries. Might decrease wars. Some urbanised people seems to be against of high usage of biofuel since it might increase food prices at first. But I believe that will be only temporal effect.

When the deposites of oil are over, any more or less satisfactory answer will be be accepted with haste and gratitude, so why shouldn't it be biofuels. I only wonder why this idea wasn't developed earlier.

Maybe genetically modified crops could be a solution. They are said to be immune to pests and diseases plus they grow faster and are made to be more sustainable than conventional ones. Consumers are concerned about the potential danger of GM food but as raw for biofuel GMOs would satisfy both manufacturers and consumers, wouldn't they?

Very good topic.

Okay, firstly I don't agree with bio-fuels. For a start, the production of Bio-fuels is what is in part creating the current food shortage, seriously harming developing worlds. It has been shown that many bio-fuels are now being grown in place of crops that would help feed people, because governments are paying farmers to do so. Even worse, deforestation (the cutting down of trees in mass amounts) is being increased and encouraged to make way for Biofuel land.

Ironically, this is releasing more CO2 (Carbon Dioxide) due to the level of trees being burnt and of course becuse less trees are then available to create Oxygen, the situation gets worse.

GM (Genetically Modified) crops are a good option, but by no means the solution. What I think is needed is better funding in Agriculture, more research and development, more funds to farmers for growing food crops and more land being given to farmers for crop production.

As for the Energy Question, I'm a proponant of cutting down the items we use already (the millitary uses massive amounts of fuels, often simply for patrol-duty in places where there is no war) and the use of wind/solar and tidal energy. It's not able to produce the mass amounts of power Oil and Coal can, but it's never going to run out, it's very clean and it's quite easy to set up.

Why is there food shortage? Because farming isn't cost effective. It's not cost effective because fuel and other farming expenses are expensive even though farmers can buy fuel little cheaper I think.. Farmers always get the least. The most profit takes industry. Huge farms can have own industry. But smaller ones have to die out. If those smaller ones have enough big fields in good location that some big farm buy them up, then those fields may continuously grow goods.. But what I see around here is that there are a lot of fallow lands. Or fields that already grow bushes/forest. But it seems that selling forest is good way to earn something, but forest grow slow and usually they don't have much forest. One of my neighbour who owns a farm just told lately how he just cut the hay down so that the forest won't grow there and he actually get aid from European Union from doing so.. seems that he get enough to cover the expenses to keep land in current state(by cutting hay down) and also keep some money for living too. I don't know why EU does so.

I think making bio fuel won't increase food shortage. It just increases competition in market. It's also hard to believe that someone would cut forest for farming land. It's more like to earn money for selling trees. Or make room for cities roads and other similar things. Maybe there really is somewhere a place where someone want to deal with farming, but it's hard to believe for me. Since I don't. Yet it was once my dream.

I don't agree. There are so many people starving and we will take this to make biofuel, no! Besides, we will have to deforest to grow, harming nature.

Partly I agree and partly disagree. It depends on human exploitation. Therefore, we cannot deny the benefits of any fuel. But people need to raise awareness of environmental protection.