“……We here in Germany base our bio-fuels on rapeseed,….”.Rapeseed? Don’t you mean canola?.Most efficient bio-fuel production is from plant material high in starch or sugar. eg starch from corn, sugar from sugar cane. Sugar cane is more superior, having a higher energy balance (more energy produced than consumed in production) The high production and subsidization of ethanol production in the U.S. is probably for the wrong reasons (Bush gift to the farm lobby). Ethanol production from cellulose has a way to go before feasible, but I agree, research is needed and bio-fuel production will be important sometime in the future, but hopefully not at the cost of food production and starving people.
“……We here in Germany base our bio-fuels on rapeseed,….”.Rapeseed? Don’t you mean canola?.Most efficient bio-fuel production is from plant material high in starch or sugar. eg starch from corn, sugar from sugar cane. Sugar cane is more superior, having a higher energy balance (more energy produced than consumed in production) The high production and subsidization of ethanol production in the U.S. is probably for the wrong reasons (Bush gift to the farm lobby). Ethanol production from cellulose has a way to go before feasible, but I agree, research is needed and bio-fuel production will be important sometime in the future, but hopefully not at the cost of food production and starving people.