Transcript Water, Water, Everywhere?

Environmental Considerations of Biofuels
in Glades Area Economic Redevelopment
John C. Capece, Ph.D.
Caloosahatchee River Citizens Association
(CRCA – Riverwatch)
January 10, 2009
24th Annual Everglades Coalition Conference
Miami, FL
CRCA - RIVERWATCH
U.S. Sugar Purchase in Hendry & Glades Counties
CRCA - RIVERWATCH
Southern Flow-way from Lake Okeechobee
• CRCA debated & officially endorsed the
southern flow-way concept in 2007-2008.
• CRCA was unable to reach consensus on
the U.S. Sugar buyout because of:
– Uncertainties regarding state commitment to the
economic redevelopment of the affected rural
communities.
– Concerns over the structure of the lease-back
component of the purchase agreement.
– A desire to see a flow-way based on dual-use
lands incorporating fundamental changes in
farming and economic compensation systems.
CRCA – Riverwatch
Concerns with Energy Issues
• Energy, greenhouse gases, climate change & sea
level rise are the overarching threats to South Florida.
• 2006-2007 involvement in the FPL Glades Power Park
coal-fired electric generation plant near Moore Haven.
• Some in Riverwatch (John Capece and others)
advocated a coal gasification plant with carbon
sequestration and mercury capture partially out of
concern that pursuing biofuels, as a national energy
policy, would result in greater negative impacts on the
environment & food supplies.
What Are Biofuels?
• Food for People & Livestock
• Energy for Society:
– Biomass combustion for heat and cooking
– Biomass combustion for electrical power
– Ethanol (alcohol) from fermentation
– Biodiesel (oil) production
– Biogas (methane) anaerobic digestion
– 2nd generation (isobutanol, cellulosic, syngas)
– 3rd generation (from algae feedstock)
Are Biofuels A Good Option?
• This presentation outlines some of
the considerations &
methodologies for developing
rational plans & policies for any
dramatic expansion of the Glades
biofuels industry.
How To Evaluate the Merits of Biofuels?
• Various criteria:
– CASH FLOW
– ENERGETICS
– ENVIRONMENTAL
– NATIONAL SECURITY
– OTHER ECONOMIC
ISSUES
– OTHER SOCIAL
ISSUES
Cash Flow – “Free Markets”
• Traditionally thought to integrate all system costs with
social costs moderated through the political & law
enforcement process.
• Includes subsidies & tariffs
• Excludes externalized costs
• The low-cost producer isn’t always the most efficient.
Rather, it is often the most externalized.
• Tends to push systems towards high-yield monocultures to
the exclusion of other considerations (natural resources
depletion).
Energetics – Total Energy Budget
• Energy accounting or the flows & storage of
energy into and out of a system.
• H.T. Odum work at UF (with others
including Mark T. Brown)
• Provides a more comprehensive analysis if,
like traditional economics, all input, output,
and impact categories are included.
• Like traditional economics, an energetics
model can neglect some cost categories
and social considerations.
Emergy (embodied energy) Analysis of
Agricultural Production Systems
Emergy (embodied energy) Analysis of
Sugarcane Ethanol
from Consuelo L. F. Pereira and Enrique Ortega, 2007 (Brazil)
Comparison of Biofuels Emergy
“The true value of energy to society is the
net energy, which is what's left after the
energy costs of getting and concentrating
that energy are subtracted.” Odum, 1974.
• The ability to make these assessments assumes
that consensus exists on what categories of
impacts represent costs of the process.
Photosynthetic Efficiency
a limiting factor
• A comparison of conversion efficiency from solar
to usable energy (taking into account the whole
energy budgets) shows that photovoltaics are
100 times more efficient than corn ethanol and 10
times more efficient than the best biofuel.
Environmental Impacts Criteria
• Environmental Sustainability Index (ESI)
• Environmental Loading Ratio (ELR)
• Ecological Footprint
• Composite Sustainability Performance Index
• Green Biofuels Index
Net Energy Output & CO2 Emissions
from U.K. Dept. of Transport
Jan. 2008
Requirements of Biofuels Production
• Muck Soil Subsidence
– 40 tons/ac yield with 0.5” muck loss, 10 tons C
• Fertilizers & Pesticides Use
• Water Consumption
• Water Pollution
• Requirements of the biofuels refining process
are highly dependent on the specific technology
employed.
Required Biofuels Inputs
Biofuel
Source
Water
Fertilizer Pesticides Energy % of land
Corn
high
high
high
high
200
Sugarcane
high
high
med
med
50
Switch grass
low
low
low
low
80
Wood residue
med
low
low
low
200
Algae
med
low
low
high
2
% of U.S. farm land required to meet half of U.S. demand.
Table from Groom, Gray & Townsend in Conservation Biology.
Sugarcane and switch grass are highest among existing technologies, but
algae appears to hold greatest potential as a future biofuel technology.
Other Social and Economic Factors
• LAND USE CHANGES
– Without changes in people’s diet or improvements in
agricultural productivity, using crop land for fuel
production simply accelerates the conversion of natural
lands to farms, with the accompanying loss of habitat and
other landscape functions.
• COMPETITION WITH FOOD
– The recent spike in energy costs led to food riots in many
nations. A rapidly-growing biofuels industry could increase
suffering in developing nations.
What Does the Ag College Think?
• The UF-IFAS sponsorship announcements on Public
Radio specifically refer to bifuel energy from
AGRICULTURAL WASTES.
• This may not reflect any conclusion on the part of
UF-IFAS regarding the net merits of producing fuel
directly from crops, but it is notable.
What Will Be Government Policy?
Obama Economic Speech, Jan. 8, 2009:
• “…we will double the production of alternative
energy in the next three years.”
• “…jobs building solar panels and wind turbines,
constructing fuel-efficient cars and buildings, and
developing the new energy technologies that will
lead to even more jobs, more savings, and a
cleaner, safer planet in the bargain.”
The speech included no direction mention of biofuels,
which could suggest that the new administration
may not provide a blanket endorsement of biofuels.
They may want to look at biofuel options on a case
by case basis.
Conclusions
• Any subsidies for an expanded biofuels industry on public lands in
the Glades area should target balanced returns (economic,
environmental & social).
• Proper assessment of biofuels costs & benefits requires a rational,
structured process…characterized by transparency and accurate
assignments of costs & values.
• Total value of the landscape functions (including water storage,
muck conservation, etc.) should be considered in the farming
systems development, not simply cash flow from maximum yields
of traditional agricultural practices.
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