Deep Green Crystals put me on to this story in the Wall St Journal about
how renewables such as ethanol and biodiesel could help account for 25% of the US energy demand by 2025 -WSJ.com, according to a study by the Rand Corporation.
Part of the answer lies in forests which are covering more land area in the US and China, for example. Obviously we have all learned our lessons from the Lorax and we don't need to worry about stress on water supplies that short-term increases in wheat cultivation for ethanol in the mid West, may bring about.
The report says
A second renewable-energy report soon to be released by the National Academy of Sciences suggests wood chips may become a plentiful source of ethanol and electricity for industrial nations because their forested areas are expanding, led by the U.S. and China.
It adds
Rand researchers modeled more than 1,500 economic scenarios and found that in most cases, increasing the use of renewable fuels -- which don't enlarge the atmosphere's carbon-dioxide buildup -- would be cheaper than federal regulations forcing the reduction of carbon-dioxide emissions, about a third of which come from vehicles
And I do like this, also in the article
The study notes there has been "little systematic analysis" of the costs of renewable fuels. Much of the debate has consisted of optimistic projections by environmental groups and doubts expressed by some academic skeptics, who say that making ethanol from corn consumes nearly as much energy as it produces and could raise food prices. Ed Murphy, a group director for the American Petroleum Institute, said policy that assumes there will be substantial improvement in ethanol technology "could be foolish and costly."
Image from Wikipedia
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