Types of Biofuels Currently, the main biofuel in the United States is ethanol derived from corn kernels. Cornbased ethanol is made by converting the starch in corn kernels to sugars and then converting those sugars into ethanol. Ethanol derived from sorghum and biodiesel derived from soybeans comprise a very small fraction of U.S. biofuels. Other potential sources of materials for use in biofuels include field crops such as soy; short-rotation woody crops such as poplar and willow; animal fats, vegetable oils, and recycled greases; perennial grasses, such as switchgrass; agricultural and forestry residues such as manure and cellulosic waste; aquatic products such
Biofuels, or fuels made from plant matter, have been identified by many governments as an important component of our future energy supply. Supplying this bioenergy would require additional land, and presumably lead to the conversion of large natural areas into agroecosystems. Such a conversion to supply human energy needs would have consequences for many of the millions of other species that depend on the natural landscape for resources. Based on calculations of the most optimistic reported net energy values of eight potential biofuel sources: corn, oil palm, prairie grass or lowinput high-density biomass (LIHD), rapeseed, soybean, sugar cane, sunflower, and
BIOFUELS: A COMPLEX AND MORAL QUESTION Albert Fritsch, S. J.
In America and Europe there is a massive groundswell of interest in using biofuels as transport fuel. Americans see biofuels as part of the national effort to help make our nation independent of foreign petroleum and natural gas. Election of a new Democratic Congress in November has accelerated this thrust. While some call the interest in biofuels a meaningful environmental development meriting generous government funding; others call this an environmental catastrophe just waiting to happen. Where do biofuels fit into the picture? Is this a cheap energy source from organic matter
