The World in 2030

The World in 2030 201
‘Sustainable’ 381 resources are crops and biomass that can
be used as a source of energy and which can be grown in
a way that is environmentally responsible. The cultivation
of sustainable fuel sources usually produces some carbon
emissions and these last two points are very important when
considering the advisability of the current energy policy of
the United States, the world’s worst polluter.
In an attempt to appear ‘green’ (and to appease growing
public awareness of the dangers of climate change in the
United States) the George W. Bush White House has provided
new subsidies to boost the production of bioethanol, 382 a
biofuel 383 made from corn and, in warmer regions, sugarcane
(biofuel is a form of alcohol).
The reason that the existing oil industry smiles on this
‘biofuel’ initiative is that although the feedstock changes,
the methods of refining and distributing propellant energy
remain the same. The ‘Big Oil’ infrastructure remains in
place and it is almost ‘business as usual’.
But there are many serious problems with America’s new
policy of boosting ethanol production to fuel motor transport.
Environmentalists are falling over themselves to point out
just how wrongheaded Bush’s policy is on this topic. Even
non-aligned and much respected commentators point out the
mistakes, as The Economist commented in May 2007:
Corn-based ethanol is neither cheap nor especially
green: it requires a lot of energy to produce. Production
has been boosted by economically-questionable
help from state and federal governments, including