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Biodiesel is booming. It may help the climate, but there's a big environmental risk

It's set for an unprecedented boom in the next few years because of government policies aimed at finding alternatives to fossil fuels, and helping the climate. Those incentives are driving up demand for soybeans and other oilseeds, pushing prices higher and squeezing supply.

Farmers are happy about higher prices for their crops, but many environmentalists are worried that the pressure to produce greater supplies of biodiesel could lead to more land-clearing for soybean fields or palm oil plantations, ultimately releasing more greenhouse gases and damaging the environment.

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Articles of Interest

Biodiesel Made from Algae Is Now Available in California

The big benefit of using algae over corn or soybeans was that you could produce much more burnable fuel on far less land. (Growing corn takes up a lot of space.

California’s Biodiesel Choice Is a Good One

California is making great strides in rolling back decades of carbon proliferation endangering our families, homes and livelihoods. I’m proud biodiesel is playing an important role in reaching zero new-carbon emissions in Californians’ not too distant future.

History of Biodiesel Fuel

Pioneering work in Europe and South Africa by researchers such as Martin Mittelbach furthered development of the biodiesel fuel industry in the early 1990s, with the U.S. industry coming on more slowly, due to lower prices for petroleum diesel.

Move over, corn and soybeans: The next biofuel source could be giant sea kelp

Unlike today’s energy crops, such as corn and soybeans, growing kelp doesn’t require land, fresh water or fertilizer. And giant kelp can grow over a foot per day under ideal conditions. Kelp typically grows in shallow zones near the coast, and thrives only where sunlight and nutrients are both plentiful.

Oil Refineries See Profit in Turning Kitchen Grease Into Diesel

Struggling energy companies are increasing the production of renewable diesel, which can reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Palm Oil Was Supposed to Help Save the Planet. Instead It Unleashed a Catastrophe.

A decade ago, the U.S. mandated the use of vegetable oil in biofuels, leading to industrial-scale deforestation — and a huge spike in carbon emissions.

The Rise and Imminent Fall of Biodiesel

So why is this industry now in crisis? The problem lies in the EPA’s handling of fraud within the government’s program for promoting the use of biofuels.

Turning Soybeans Into Diesel Fuel Is Costing Us Billions

Defenders of biodiesel insist that it's a much cleaner fuel than regular diesel, because it doesn't come from the ground, but from plants — mainly soybeans — that capture carbon dioxide from the air as they grow. In fact, by the EPA's calculations, replacing petroleum-based fuel with biodiesel will cut greenhouse emissions at least in half. A growing number of environmentalists, however, say that this calculation is dead wrong.

Resources

Biodiesel Magazine

Biodiesel Magazine is recognized as the premier trade journal of the biodiesel industry.

Biodiesel.org

Clean Fuels Alliance America is the U.S. trade association representing the entire biodiesel, renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel supply chain, including producers, feedstock suppliers and fuel distributors